Pinterest Just Raised the Bar for Marketers
This morning we grabbed our coffee, tuned into Pinterest Presents 2025, Pinterest’s own annual showcase of what’s new and next—and wow. If you thought Pinterest was only about recipes and dream kitchens, think again. It’s now one of the most powerful ad platforms for brands who want to capture intent, inspire action, and—crucially—drive sales.
At Creative Company, we’ve always known Pinterest was a goldmine for smart marketers. But after today’s updates (shared publicly by Pinterest themselves), we’re more convinced than ever. Here’s the lowdown on what’s new, why it matters, and how you can use it to get ahead.
1. Know Your Audience, Not Just the Trends
Yes, trends are shiny. But as Pinterest put it, they’re only worth chasing if they’re relevant. With the revamped Pinterest Trends Tool, brands can now see what people are searching, saving, and shopping in real time. Even better? You can slice it by the last 90 days, seasonal shifts, and predictive insights.
Translation: instead of guessing what your audience wants, you’ll know exactly what they’re eyeing before they buy. For marketers, this means building ads that feel less like noise and more like “finally, exactly what I was looking for.”
2. Smarter Shopping Ads
Shopping is where Pinterest is doubling down. Big updates include:
- Automatic promotion highlights: if your product goes on sale, Pinterest now shouts about it for you.
- Shopify discounts imported directly: fewer faffs, more conversions.
- Bigger ads (literally): soon, shopping ads will stretch across the full Pinterest feed—four times bigger than standard ads. Bigger ads = bigger impact.
And here’s the kicker: for CPG brands who usually have to pick between visibility and sales, Pinterest now lets you add “where to buy” links. That means you can send traffic to a retailer and still capture purchase intent data. No more tough choices—just smoother shopping journeys.
3. Performance Plus (with an AI Assist)
If Pinterest Trends is the brain, Performance Plus is the muscle. This new AI-powered setup tool makes campaigns faster to launch and easier to scale. Drop in a product image, and AI will generate backgrounds, crop and resize, and even suggest which creatives are performing best.
We love this because:
- Campaigns using it are seeing 20% lower CPA (yes, twenty percent).
- You can spin up shopping and collection ads in a few clicks.
- It removes the tedious setup so you can focus on the fun stuff—creative storytelling.
Sephora’s results prove the point: a 32% drop in eCPM, 116% ROAS growth year-on-year, plus a tidy 10% site traffic boost. That’s not just incremental, that’s game-changing. And they’re not the only ones—IKEA and Skims are already scaling their storytelling through Pinterest ads too.
4. Media Network Connect = More Reach, Less Hassle
Here’s one for the big players: Pinterest has introduced Media Network Connect, letting brands plug into their preferred media networks directly in Ads Manager. Access new audiences, scale creative, and track conversions without juggling platforms. It’s a simplified way to supercharge reach, and yes—it’s only rolling out in the US for now, but expansion is coming. Watch this space.
5. Creativity Still Wins (AI Won’t Do It All)
We know, AI is everywhere. But here’s the truth: your creative still matters most. Pinterest made it clear—while automation optimises, it’s your brand’s storytelling, visuals, and strategic thinking that stop the scroll.
Buick nailed it: their collage ads didn’t feel like ads at all, they felt personal. That’s why people engaged, interacted, and yes—bought.
At Creative Company, we couldn’t agree more. AI will make things quicker, but it won’t make things clever. That’s where the human touch—the wit, the strategy, the spark—still wins every time.
Why This Matters for Your Brand
Pinterest isn’t just about inspiration boards anymore. It’s an intent-driven, shoppable ecosystem where audiences are actively planning their next move—whether that’s buying a sofa, testing a new skincare routine, or refinancing their home. And thanks to the platform’s latest upgrades, it’s now easier (and cheaper) than ever to meet them there.
So, if Pinterest hasn’t been in your marketing mix yet, consider this your wake-up pin. And if you’re already on the platform, it’s time to sharpen your strategy, double down on creative, and let AI handle the heavy lifting.
At Creative Company, we couldn’t agree more. AI will make things quicker, but it won’t make things clever. That’s where the human touch—the wit, the strategy, the spark—still wins every time.
Ready to Pin Down Your Next Campaign?
We help brands turn Pinterest potential into performance. Whether it’s crafting scroll-stopping creatives, setting up campaigns that convert, or making sense of all that data, Creative Company’s got you covered.
Because here’s the thing: Pinterest isn’t just the world’s biggest dream board—it’s the world’s most underestimated ad platform. And with the right strategy, your brand could be the one everyone’s pinning.
