The moodboard app took advertisers (and The Drum) on a journey through the world of Pinterest with actors, game shows, and giant floral installations.
Last week, Pinterest aimed to turn the traditional up-front format on its head by offering advertisers an immersive experience.
The idea was to create an intimate and interactive experience, explains Laura Gaffney, Business Marketing Director for EMEA and APAC.
“We know that so many conferences for advertisers have the exact same format, so we wanted to do something different to inspire and engage with agencies and clients. , I just wanted you to remember this.”
The experience had four rooms: a game show stage, a festival experience, a relaxation room, and a shop. Actors and hosts took people through the experience. There were talking flower hearts, bean bags, and a fragrant room. People laughed heartily as they shared a tongue-in-cheek dialogue about performance marketing, ad formats, and ROI.
Pinterest organized this event as part of a broader strategy to make marketing more exciting for both consumers and businesses. “One of our principles this year is, 'Let's make everything less boring.' At the beginning of every project, we think, 'How can we make it less boring?'” Gaffney says. “We take a very creative and bold approach to everything we do.”
Gaffney's team has traditionally held traditional ad sales conferences where audiences sit still and listen to various presentations, but Gaffney's team is trying to show people how advertising products work by “showing them, not telling them.” I was pursuing an approach that showed
The event was designed to showcase Pinterest's performance products, and was no different than previous Pinterest B2B events. “We try to use a slightly different approach to accomplish the same objective, because ultimately we're asking people, 'Is this something I should consider for my client?' Because I want you to think about it.”
Pinterest surveyed people after the event to find out if this format worked. While this style of event is the first in the UK market, there are plans to hold another event in Canada, and Gaffney said they will use feedback from advertisers to make adjustments.
When asked if experiential B2B events are the future of Pinterest, Gaffney said: “If this works and helps us achieve the key points we want to deliver, then so be it.”
The B2B marketing team agreed with the consumer arm of the business, which launched its first experiential project in October. Dubbed “Possibility Place,” the pop-up brings together elements of the app, including a tattoo shop, beauty bar, and recipe inspiration. Most recently, Pinterest ran an activation at Coachella called Manifest Station, giving festival goers the chance to customize their outfits. “Experiential marketing is something we do in a big way on the consumer side, but it should also be done for brands on the business side.”
Pinterest is one of many brands ramping up their investment in experiences for 2024. IPA's latest quarterly Bellwether suggests event marketing will be the biggest area for budget growth in his 2024 and 2025.
Gaffney also talked about Pinterest's challenges from advertisers who view Pinterest as a wedding planning tool rather than everyday use. Changing this perception is something Louise Richardson, the company's European marketing director, previously told The Drum. Gaffney's strategy here is to push non-wedding case studies to advertisers, using the example of Sweaty Betty. “Sweaty Betty identified that people were coming to her Pinterest for gym clothes inspiration, so she used her Pinterest Trending data to find out what Pinners were searching for. ,” she explains. The resulting campaign saw her return on ad spend increase by 39%. “We want to tell more of these stories and show that it’s not necessarily a wedding-focused campaign.”
