Pinterest Extends Ad Platform to 4 More Countries in Europe

All brands in Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy can now run standard and video ads on Pinterest. These four countries followed France, which became the first non-English-speaking country for Pinterest’s ad program last November. In addition to the countries above, Pinterest ads are available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and are being tested in the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Switzerland. Global head of partnerships Jon Kaplan said that when Pinterest began expanding its ad program to countries outside of the U.S., it began with other English-speaking countries in order to ensure that the ads it was serving were useful and relevant, adding that it was able to bring learnings from its first non-English-speaking country (France) to the four countries that were just added. Kaplan told Adweek that “international growth has been a priority for us, and that includes our advertising program. … First, and most important, we prioritize our work on the core product to ensure that we’re offering local, personalized content for people in their country. Next, we look at the size of the opportunity for new countries, which includes the relationships we have created with both global and local businesses that would be interested in reaching people in these markets when they are actively considering what to do or buy.” Visual search is also top-of-mind in Pinterest’s international expansion plans, as Kaplan pointed out that more than half of users are located outside of the U.S. He added, “Visual search is core to Pinterest, and naturally, a part of everything we do.” Pinterest went all-in on visual search when it introduced Lens, Shop the Look and Instant Ideas in February 2017, and the company said last February that over 600 million visual searches were being conducted on its network every month. Kaplan said, “People around the world already come to Pinterest in a shopping mindset and are open to discovering products from brands, which creates a natural alignment between Pinners and businesses. We believe the future of online shopping will be in pictures and not words.” He added, “The visual aspect of Pinterest is key to the customer journey on the platform. Because everything is visual, it’s easy for a consumer to spot things that match their unique tastes—a new style to wear or a new way to spruce up their home—even when they don’t have the words to describe what they’re searching for.” Pinterest said it is building new sales teams in Germany, Spain and Italy as well as regional teams in Germany, France and Ireland to support other European locations. Kaplan said Pinterest already has country managers in the U.K., Canada, Germany and France and itis currently hiring additional sales leads to work with brands both in-country and regionally. He added that Philip Missler will officially join Pinterest April 1 and lead the team and ads business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Missler had served as Amazon’s managing director of advertising for Germany and Italy since December 2014. Global chocolate and confectionery company Ferrero was part of a small group of businesses to test Pinterest ads in Germany, and its senior digital media manager, Lukas Wiener, said in a statement, “We can reach people on Pinterest who are specifically searching for new ideas and are open to discovering new brands and products. Pinterest ads offer us a chance to address these people even better.” Retail and tourism cooperative REWE Group and coffee retailer Tchibo were also part of the test group in Germany.

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Pinterest Extends Ad Platform to 4 More Countries in Europe

Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy join the fray

David Cohen

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