Pinterest Debuts Auto-Play Video Ads, Explore Content-Discovery Feature

Auto-play video ads have arrived on Pinterest, along with a new Explore content-discovery feature for users. Pinterest announced in early August that it was developing a fully integrated native video player, and later that month, the social network launched Promoted Video, video ads containing featured Pins. Promoted videos have now gone auto-play, as Jenny Chiu, who works on partnerships at Pinterest, announced in a blog post that the social network is testing the new video ad format with brands in the U.S. and U.K. including American Express, The Home Depot, Macy’s and Sony Pictures, and adding: Now, less than three months since we launched Promoted Video, we’re testing a new auto-play version of the experience. With this feature, your video jumps right into action as soon as a Pinner discovers it. Brands advertising with this kind of Promoted Video can create an episodic viewing experience. With additional videos that run alongside the primary video, you can create a playlist of ideas. When someone is done watching your first video, the next starts playing automatically. In this way, people on Pinterest get a series of ideas from your brand. As for the new Explore feature for users, product manager Julie Park said in a blog post that it will take “about a week” for all users to gain access, adding that the new section will include “trending ideas, quick-play videos, expert faves and more” from “top tastemakers, industry experts and even our own Pinterest employees.” Park said publishers with content that can be found in Explore include Tastemade, HGTV, GQ, Refinery29, Harper’s Bazaar, National Geographic, BuzzFeed and Brit+Co. Users can also search by topic and opt to “see all Pins” within those topics. She wrote: Each time you drop by Explore, you get a snapshot of what’s trending on Pinterest, from emerging cultural trends (like “Hygge,” Danish for a simple life lived well) to surprising new flavors (like toasted sweet potato by the slice). You’ll also find picks from top tastemakers, industry experts and even our own Pinterest employees, who crowdsource the best ideas using a combination of what Pinners are loving today and what’s happening in the world around us. And when we come across ideas we think you’d especially want to see, your Explore also includes a collection of your own personalized recommendations. Videos play right where you are so you can instantly see how to bring each idea to life—whether it’s learning the trick to stuffing cheese inside onion rings or how to fold a shirt in four seconds. Come explore Explore today, tomorrow and every day after that on your phone (tap the magnifying-glass icon at the bottom of your screen) or on the web (click new Compass button next to the search bar, right where the old category button used to be). Pinterest users: What are your initial thoughts on the new Explore feature and the addition of auto-play video ads?

Social Pro Daily

Pinterest Debuts Auto-Play Video Ads, Explore Content-Discovery Feature

Auto-play video ads have arrived on Pinterest, along with a new Explore content-discovery feature for users.

David Cohen

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