Pinterest is pitching brands on a new video ad product that will give them a way to target consumers based on categories of interests, which advertisers described as an innovative way to snag brand budgets in upfront-type deals.
On Wednesday, Pinterest announced the new ad product it named Pinterest Premiere, which will appear in people’s feeds, targeted to their interests and other characteristics. Pinterest Premiere was just one of the points of focus at Pinterest Presents, which was the first advertising summit from the company. Pinterest Presents was held virtually and featured celebrity guests Chrissy Teigen and Dan Levy, as well as brands like American Express.
Pinterest showed off the new video ads, its consumer prediction powers, shopping tools, and other flairs of the platform in the presentation, which was similar to what a lot tech peers have been hosting lately in showcasing digital ad products to brands and ad agencies. Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter have all held similar events, so far, this year.
Liz Cole, executive director and U.S. head of social at VMLY&R, attended the event and said that the video product had potential for retail, food, apparel and home improvement brands, in particular. It’s an ad unit that is similar to ones that Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok offer, giving brands a prominent “takeover” position. Pinterest is in a unique position, Cole says, because it also has a line into people who are looking to hear most from brands at moments they are considering purchases.
“It marries two things that I think have previously been a little bit separated in the social landscape,” Cole says. “One being immersive video with broad reach and scale, and the second is this audience that’s extremely leaned forward, that’s planning for the future, that is explicitly trying to add brands and products to their consideration.”