Armed with the insight that most of their sales were happening in stores to their Gen X and Boomer audience base, Forty Winks saw an opportunity for further growth. Their products are relevant for everyone, and they wanted their marketing to reach and resonate with shoppers of all ages.

They knew if they wanted to diversify their customer base and revenue streams, they would need to meet younger generations where they're more likely to shop: online. Gen Z is Pinterest's fastest-growing audience group, and it's the platform where they come to plan their lives and shop — it made sense for Forty Winks to lean into Pinterest^1,2.

A strategy not to be slept on 

Forty Winks developed a suite of creative assets using static and video Pins, and opted into one of Pinterest’s lower-funnel ad formats: direct links.

The creative featured several sleeping styles that would resonate with the masses, cue: the ‘mouth breathers’, ‘side sleepers’, ‘toss ‘n’ turners’, ‘cover snatchers’, ‘hot sleepers’, and ‘doom scrollers’ to name a few. From there, with a single click, the call to action drove users directly to Forty Winks’ site to find tailored products and solutions for their sleeping needs.

Forty Winks adopted a keyword strategy featuring interests and searches such as “wellness”, “sleep quotes”, “sleeping poses”, “sleeping aesthetics”, “bedroom inspirations”, and “sleeping room aesthetics”.

They targeted people of all ages, plus implemented a retargeting strategy for website visitors, Pin engagers, and shoppers who had added goods to carts but were yet to convert.

Their ambition was to be top of mind for shoppers during peak retail moments, including Halloween and the build-up to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. This campaign was perfectly timed to reach people on Pinterest while they were actively planning and preparing for their next big purchase.

Within a few months, Forty Winks unlocked a new digital ads channel, engaged broader audiences, and drove more sales online and in-store. Noteworthy results include their boost in return-on-ad-spend (over 10X) with shoppers who 'added to carts' and later converted¹.

While their Pinterest ads appealed and resonated with people of all ages, the highest engagement came from the audience that Forty Winks set out to target: Gen Z and Millennials¹.

Overall, this campaign has helped Forty Winks expand their customer base, unlock growth, and drive results — by showing up where their potential shoppers were searching: Pinterest.

Tips for your next campaign

Try these Pinterest best practices to get more out of your ads. 

1. Make your advertising content relatable and fun. Just like Forty Winks did with their light, humorous ads. They resonated with audiences of all ages, helping put them on the radar amongst younger generations. Want to know what makes your audience tick? Dive into Pinterest insights — with Pinterest Predicts, Gen Z consumer trends, and Explore Inspiration Nation.

2. Try direct links for yourself. Reduce the steps to take shoppers from discovery to action with one of Pinterest's lower-funnel ad formats: direct links. They are designed to help expedite the path to purchase — instantly directing users from Pinterest to your website with just one single click.

3. Lean into peak retail moments. Forty Winks' campaign aligned perfectly with Halloween, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday sales. What moment would be perfect for your brand? If you need some inspiration, head to Pinterest Trends to discover what users are searching for. And remember, people on Pinterest are planners, so start early — for example, for the holiday season, searches begin as early as June³.