Pinterest focuses on personalisation in first TV brand campaign

As Pinterest launches its first brand campaign we talk to head of marketing, Elie Donahue to find out why personalisation and the UK are key to its brand and strategy.

Pinterest TV ad

The campaign, which will run from May for seven months, aims to be“highly localised and highly personalised”.

Created by Mediacom and Stinkdigital it will feature 10-second TV ads that directly relate to the TV show the audience has just watched. Although Donahue would not detail which specific programmes it is planning to advertise around, the ads will be based on 20 different TV shows, all airing on Channel 4.

Donahue describes the campaign as “highly targeted”, with each ad relating to specific topics in the show. “If you’re watching a programme that mentions brunch, we’re going to show you exciting ideas about brunch that relate to the UK – it’s something I haven’t seen done before”, she explains.

Though the ads will be personalised to different shows, Donahue says there is no specific target audience in mind. The objective of the campaign is to provide everyone  with an understanding of Pinterest and how it can be used in everyday life.

“We really believe that Pinterest is for everyone, regardless of your age and whether you live in an urban or suburban area. We have chosen a nice mix of demographic targeting. The ideas we are going to serve up are aimed at everyone,” she says.

“We chose three main different ad formats. We chose TV, digital outdoor components and mobile. People’s lives involve all three of those forms. They surf on their mobile phones, they take the tube, they watch a cool show with their family at night and they might be doing more than one of these at once.”

Pinterest follows other online platforms in launching its first TV ad, including Facebook which released its ‘Friends’ campaign last year.

The latest stats from Thinkbox, based on data from Nielson, found that online businesses invested more than £500m in TV in 2015, an increase of 14% on 2014.

And Matt Hill, Thinkbox’s research and planning director, says there are key reasons why digital brands are turning to TV. “Online businesses in particular see TV’s instant effects better than most because, thanks to multi-screening, people can go online immediately after they see the TV ad to search, investigate and buy”.

The importance of the UK

Localisation is also key to the campaign, with the ads based on British culture and shown only in the UK.

“With our first ever advertising campaign, we really want to inspire the UK audience around the broad range of locally relevant ideas they can find on Pinterest for both their everyday and maybe not so everyday life moments,” says Donahue.

When asked why Pinterest wants to kick off brand marketing in the UK, Donahue comments on the ability to use different formats and to push boundaries.

Alongside the marketing campaign, Pinterest is also launching a new feature called ‘Featured Collections’. Its aim is to increase international growth for the business, with over half of Pinterest’s user base now outside the US.

The feature will be available in the UK, France, Germany, Japan and Brazil, and will focus on finding local ideas based on where you are. UK ‘pinners’ will find content including Jamie Oliver recipes, Mr Burberry looks and style by Fearne Cotton.

By targeting Pinterest users through personalisation and locality, the company is seeking to produce a, “faster, cleaner and a more modern experience for a global audience”.

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