Performance Marketing experts, Genie Goals, has launched Life Goals, the second volume in its annual series highlighting the most creative, effective and imaginative digital marketing campaigns across ecommerce. Following the success of Home Goals, this new edition highlights 75 brands shaping how people spend their time through sport, crafts, outdoors, reading, self care and everyday micro hobbies.
Life Goals brings together standout work from global leaders and independent challengers alike, celebrating ideas that cut through noise and tap into what people love to do outside of work. The report explores six categories that reflect the shifts happening in modern marketing: Artificial Intelligence, Creative and Storytelling, Paid Media, Brand Building, Organic Campaigns and Experience.
The team assessed hundreds of campaigns before selecting entries that showed smart use of technology, clear purpose, strong values, compelling narrative, ethical practices and customer centric thinking. Every entry was weighted equally, regardless of brand size, giving challenger brands the same opportunity as global names, and expert judgement played a key role in ensuring quieter innovators were recognised alongside bigger spenders.
The report highlights work such as Merrell’s use of AI to reduce returns by up to 25% through smarter insights and improved product accuracy, Castore’s personalisation strategy with Klaviyo, and evo’s digital assistant helping shoppers find the right technical gear online. It also includes purpose led storytelling from brands like Finisterre, Patagonia and Norwich City FC whose #YouAreNotAlone film reached more than three hundred million viewers worldwide .
Emily Long, CEO of Genie Goals said: “Life Goals is our love letter to the hobbies and pastimes that make everyday life that bit richer. We wanted to shine a light on the brands creating work that feels thoughtful, joyful and genuinely useful, whether they’re global names or tiny teams doing clever things. This year’s entries show how much creativity and care still exists in ecommerce when you put people first. These campaigns aren’t just good marketing. They’re reminders of what inspires us, connects us and keeps us curious.”
Covering everything from data driven fixes to TikTok born beauty brands, the book captures the state of ecommerce in 2025 through the lens of hobbies, creativity and lifestyle. It is designed to give marketers practical ideas and examples they can adapt to their own work, while championing the brands that understand both culture and customers.
The book works like a cultural barometer, showing how consumer habits, passions and tiny daily rituals are changing, enabling marketers to trace what matters to people now through the brands and ideas that resonated most.
Industry contributors
Life Goals also includes insights and perspectives from a range of industry experts, including Hannah Spicer (CRM Consultant), Miya Knights (Best-selling Author and Strategic Consultant), Freddie Chatt (Ecommerce SEO Consultant), James Gurd (Fractional Ecommerce Director and Consultant), Hannah Callaghan (Partner Manager at Mention Me) and Brian Graydon (Head of Partnerships at Nosto), whose commentary and case studies helped shape the final book. It also includes insights from Genie Goals channel experts Emily Long, CEO of Genie Goals, Jérémy Courty, Head of Paid Search, Sam Thompsett, Head of Paid Social, and Rachel Said, Head of Affiliate and Partner Marketing, whose day to day work with brands shaped much of the thinking in this year’s book.
Winners
Artificial Intelligence
Best Use of AI in Customer Journey - Merrell
Best Use of AI for Personalisation - Castore
Best Use of AI for Customer Experience - evo x alby
Best Use of AI in Ecommerce - SportShoes
Best AI Powered Omnichannel Experience - Decathlon
Creative and Storytelling
Best Celebrity Collaboration - Ancient + Brave
Best Photography - Fjällräven
Boldest Christmas Marketing Campaign - Patagonia
Best Purpose Led Campaign - Finisterre
Best Use of Email and SMS - TALA
Best IRL Adventure Inspiration - YETI
Most Playful Purpose Driven Campaign - On
Best Campaign for Next Gen Explorers - Nikwax
Most Powerful Mental Health Storytelling - Norwich City F.C.
Best YouTube Creative - Victorian Plumbing
Best TikTok Made Me Buy It Creative (sme) - Hair Syrup
Best TikTok Made Me Buy It Creative (big) - Bissell
Best Meta Creative - SURI
Paid Media
Best Use of Demand Generation - Bird and Blend Tea Co.
Best Use of Influencers at Scale - Gymshark
Best Awareness Based Partner - Linkby
Best Affiliates Content Partnership - LEGO x Linkby
Best Affiliate Programme (big) - Vivobarefoot
Best Product Discovery Campaign - Assembly Coffee
Best B2C Influencer Campaign - Bobbin Bicycles
Brand Building
Best Community Campaign - The North Face
Best Paid Search Strategy - Mamas and Papas
Organic Campaigns
Best PR Strategy - JD Outdoor
Best Community Focused Challenge - COROS
Best Product Page Experience - Absolute Snow
Best Onsite Search - O’Neill
Best Subscription Experience - Illumicrate
Experience
Best Online Brand Experience - ThruDark
Best In Store Experience - Hobbycraft
Best Omnichannel Experience (sme) - Rapha
Best Omnichannel Campaign (big) - Games Workshop x Warhammer
Best Use of Gamification - Paultons Park
Best Conversational Commerce Experience - Jack Wolfskin
Best Site Speed and Mobile Experience - Runners Need
Best Collaboration - Skinnydip x Pokémon
Best Gifting Experience - Teak and Twine
Best Customer Journey (Large Omnichannel Retail) - Ellis Brigham
To request a free physical copy of Life Goals, visit https://www.geniegoals.co.uk/genie-life-goals
Copies will be sent out while stocks last.