Where positivity powers performance: Why Pinterest is your untapped advantage

Think Pinterest is a “niche” platform? Think again.

Pinterest users (more than half a billion people) come to the most positive corner of the internet to find inspiration and curate ideas.¹ To generate positive feelings while they scroll. To experience an oasis on the internet. And, ultimately, to decide what to try and buy next.

That means Pinterest is the perfect place to meet customers who are in-market and ready to buy, but still undecided about what they want. We’ve invested heavily in actionability, shoppability and relevance—and the results are speaking for themselves.

At Pinvision, we gathered some of the best minds from the UK advertising industry to explore this "niche" platform, and the brands that have already tapped into the Pinterest advantage—read on to find out how you can join them.

1. Tap into audience insights and cultural moments

People come to Pinterest intentionally looking for inspiration—about what to do, try and buy next. As a visual search and discovery platform, it’s where customers are actively in-market, ready to make purchases but still exploring their options. This leaned-forward mindset sets Pinterest apart by offering brands a valuable opportunity to connect with a highly engaged audience. Because people come to Pinterest to discover brands and products, ads are also great content. They’re additive to the experience—helpful, not distracting.

Our panel at Pinvision UK highlighted the real-world impact of leveraging audience insights and cultural moments to meet these customers. Charlotte Gibbon, Category Marketing Director at Diageo, detailed how this has evolved and performed across their portfolio of brands. For example, Gordon’s Gin focused on lifestyle content to build stronger emotional resonance than traditional product placement would allow. Pimm’s, on the other hand, tapped into a major seasonal moment by strategically linking the refreshing drink to Wimbledon, reinforcing its status as a British summer staple. Meanwhile, Baileys tapped into coffee culture to stay relevant year-round.

Seun Odeneye, Managing Director, UKI at Kinesso, extended this thinking to life moments, noting how visual search on Pinterest can help brands show up in meaningful ways—especially when people are planning for significant milestones. He shared an example of preparing for the arrival of a new baby: “Whether someone’s packing a hospital bag and wondering what to include, or looking for nursery inspiration, Pinterest gives your brand a chance to show up in those decision-making moments. Your ads can offer content that’s timely, relevant and genuinely helpful.”

Act on the insight: Explore our official guide to the top marketing moments on Pinterest to plan campaigns that resonate right when people need your ideas most.

2. Positivity and performance are not at odds

Where a brand appears is just as important as what it says. I shared our new study with MAGNA which highlights the power of positively viewed platforms: they can be up to 94% more impactful in driving purchase intent compared to platforms viewed as non-positive.² And by incorporating viewability and positivity into media buying strategies, brands can generate up to 24% more sales—a competitive advantage that marketers striving for ROI cannot ignore.³

This research urges the industry to think beyond traditional brand safety, which often narrowly focuses on the immediate ad placement context. But as we all know, a lot of scrolling happens before and after an ad. Even with brand safety tools in place, a person can still encounter something they wish they hadn’t seen. In essence, while your impression might be technically brand safe, the overall user experience can still be negative. Therefore, it's important to consider not only how much negative content may be impacting your performance, but also how much positive content could be improving it. 

Here are some ways to get started:

• Integrate positivity signals: Enable the right tools in your brand safety toolkit with vendors like Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify. Add survey questions to your brand lift studies to gauge how positive your audience feels on the platforms you use and align these insights with campaign targeting, creative and data.

• Iterate on your MMM: Work with your MMM vendors to include positivity and viewability in your media plans. Although not standard practice, as MAGNA has shown, prioritising these elements leads to outperforming competitors. Don't hesitate to ask about metrics and variables to consider; the insights will be valuable.

• Invest in platforms that prioritise positivity: At Pinterest, positivity is foundational, informing our product investments, social impact spending and accountability metrics. Marketers have long valued Pinterest for this positivity—and now we’re delivering on performance too, with enhanced shoppability and lower-funnel solutions. 

This research proves that positivity is more than a nice to have—it can actually improve performance. Let this be the beginning of a shift where ad performance and positivity go hand in hand to drive results.

Act on the insight: Dive deeper into our MAGNA study to understand how positivity can drive purchase intent and sales for your brand.

3. Unlock the power of visual search

We've all experienced the frustration of knowing what you want but struggling to find it because, as our VP of Performance Matt Crystal noted in his keynote, "You don't have the words to describe it." At Pinterest, we’re revolutionising how people search and shop by moving beyond the limitations of text-based searches to rekindle the joy of discovery through visual exploration.

The path to purchase is often a journey of exploration and discovery; people don't shop in a linear way. It's inherently a visual experience. To support this natural process, we’re reimagining our visual search capabilities to offer users a "structured wandering experience" that allows them to explore deeper and broader than ever before.

At Pinterest, we're uniquely positioned to pioneer this new era of discovery by blending our cutting-edge technology with our users’ mindset. Our advanced computer vision and AI technologies decode images, giving people the language to communicate their tastes more clearly, unlock inspirations and embark on personalised shopping adventures. For brands, this presents a prime opportunity to engage with consumers early, guiding them toward purchase.

DFS is a standout example of this in action. Catherine Woodward, Head of Digital, shared how the retailer—traditionally known for brick-and-mortar stores—successfully embraced digital to drive significant business growth. Pinterest, she explained, acts as the perfect hybrid: a platform where digital discovery directly leads to in-store purchases. For their “What’s Your Thing?” campaign”, they brought the brand to life with creativity at scale— delivering a memorable shopper experience that led to nearly 2 million video views and Creator ads exceeding click-through goals by 71%.⁴

Act on the insight: Upload your product catalogue, invest in shopping ads and optimise your campaigns with Pinterest Performance+ to get in front of the right customers at the right time.

Full-funnel performance, without sacrifice

At Pinvision UK, we heard firsthand how brands thrive on Pinterest with our powerful blend of audience intent, proven performance and a positive environment. You shouldn’t have to choose between brand safety and impact, or get bogged down in complexity. It's about being where people feel good and are ready to act—from awareness to conversion. If you're ready to drive real results in a space that resonates, now’s the time to switch to Pinterest. Don’t miss out.