The new viral loop that doesn't die after 24 hours ๐
"Status marketing" is how companies hack social proof in 2025
Last week, Notion released faces.notion.com โ an extremely viral tool that turns your photo into its iconic black & white cartoon style.
But hereโs what makes this actually interesting:
Until now, only Notion employees had these avatars. It was like a secret club badge. When you saw someone with that cartoon style on LinkedIn โ you knew they worked at Notion.
Suddenly, everyone has them.
๐ก The marketing idea
Build a โProfile Picture Generatorโ that gives people an instant status upgrade. ๐

๐คซ The secret = โStatus Marketingโ
When you give people a way to look more successful (through their profile picture) โ theyโll do your marketing for you.
The trick is understanding what โhigher statusโ means for YOUR audience:
๐ป Tech people want to look like they work at cool startups (e.g. Notion)
๐ Creators want to look artistic/creative
๐ Consultants want to look professional/successful
๐จ Which profile pics should you generate?
Here are your options (pick one that fits your brand):
๐จ๐ปโ๐จ Transform their current photo
Minimalist line drawings (like Notion)
Watercolor portraits
Comic book hero versions
3D character renders
Custom emoji style
Pixel art avatars
Draw people as a specific animal (Duolingo could do that ๐ฆ)
๐ Add specific decorations
Achievement badges
Glowing auras
Floating symbols
Signature brand/industry elements
Status indicators e.g. as trophies
๐ซ๏ธ Upgrade their background
Professional environments
Industry-specific settings
Abstract brand patterns
Dynamic effects
Custom color schemes
Even a simple frame on top of their current photo could work. I liked what Sweet Security did for their employees:
๐ ๏ธ How should you build your generator?
You basically have three options:
โ๏ธ Build an AI generator: Let people upload their current pic and immediately get an instant AI-generated transformation. Fast and easy but less personal (less IKEA effect).
๐ฆ Manually edit profile pictures yourself: Ask people to send you their current profile pictures and do the transformation for them, one by one. This is great if your audience is relatively small!
๐ Create a Sims-style builder: Let people customize every detail themselves (like Notion does). More time-consuming, but people love making it their own.
Itโs like Appleโs Memoji creator for iMessage - people love customizing their digital identity. Theyโll spend time getting it just right.
๐ฏ What's the perfect 3-week launch strategy?
After you build a profile pic generator, I suggest doing the following:
Week 1: Seed the trend
Get your entire team to switch pics simultaneously
Create that first โbig splashโ moment
More profiles = more FOMO
Week 2: VIP early access
Pay influencers to change their profile pics (like Notion did with Snoop Dogg)
Send secret access codes to thought leaders
Build a waitlist
Week 3: Open the gates
Release to waitlist first
Share the best transformations from your brand account (itโs super flattering!)
Let it spread naturally
๐ฅ Why profile pictures > viral posts
A few months ago, I wrote about mini tools being 10x more powerful than free trials.
I believe this is the ultimate mini-tool. Why?
Because every time someone with YOUR branded profile picture likes, comments, or posts anything online โ your brand spreads. Not for a day. Forever.
And unlike one-time viral hits, profile pictures compound. The more people switch = the more others want to join (because of the FOMO). Thatโs a viral loop.
โ ๏ธ The only rule that matters
Your profile picture style must be instantly recognizable as your brand โ even without a watermark or logo. The magic happens when people choose your brandโs style not because it promotes youโฆ but because it makes them look good.
Smart, right?
See you next week โ๏ธ
Tom
P.S. Apple just released a Severance profile picture generator for Season 2. This trend is just getting startedโฆ
โIf you enjoyed this marketing idea, please tap the Like button below โฅ๏ธ Thank you!
I've seen someone recreate Notion's tool but adding AI to create the profile image based on a photo. Another way of exploiting trends and gaps!
Do you think this is valuable for newsletters on Substack?
Like, what if my audience add an emoji related to my newsletter to their user name?
Would it increase the exposure of my brand when they interact let's say, on Substack Notes?