Merrell Canada embarked on a marketing mission: to showcase the brilliance of their boots, including the coveted Moab 3, hailed as "Canada’s #1 hiking boot." The challenge? Reaching a broad and diverse audience of hiking enthusiasts spanning various age groups and sporting levels. The solution? Pinterest. Why? Their audience is here.

As the go-to platform where people come to plan, discover, and seek inspiration for their next adventure — Pinterest provided the perfect backdrop for Merrell Canada's marketing aspirations. They teamed up with agency partner Havas Canada and collaboratively crafted a consideration campaign.

Merrell Canada used an array of Pinterest ad products and formats — leveraging video, carousel, collections, Idea ads, and Standard ads. This line-up was strategically selected to enhance creativity and discoverability within peoples' feeds.

To further fuel their campaign, Merrell Canada opted in and embraced Pinterest's latest advertising feature: direct links. This format helps expedite the path to purchase for shoppers. How it works — when a shopper clicks on your ad, it skips a close-up of the Pin and instead takes them directly to your website.

For the media strategy, they used Pinterest Trends to lean into consumer intent — see what was top of mind for customers and what they were searching for. They soon identified a seasonal moment, with hiking-related searches spiking for the likes of hiking outfits, shoes, and boots. These insights then helped inform their keyword strategy, encompassing a wide range of search terms, topics and trends relating to hiking apparel, adventurer aesthetics, and road trip outfits (to name a few).

The creative was a perfect blend of sporty meets lifestyle. These outfits weren’t just hike-worthy, they were everyday wear-worthy.

Marketing mission accomplished

Merrell Canada reached their target audience and saw noteworthy results — with an impressive 2.53x increase in outbound clicks while improving cost per outbound click metrics by 60%.¹

A key element contributing to its success was Merrell Canada's standout approach to helping Pinterest shoppers envision their products in their lives. Adding direct links to the marketing mix helped shoppers convert even more seamlessly — taking them from discovery to action with just one single click.

Tips for your next campaign

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

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

2. Lean into Pinterest Trends which align with your brand and product. Utilize the Pinterest Trends tool to see what’s top of mind for your customers. And if the timing’s right, just like it was for Merrell Canada, tap into a seasonal moment. Show up where your audience is actively searching for products like yours.

3. Follow Pinterest best practices for your creative assets and branding. Make your ads pop in peoples’ feeds — show them how your products will enhance their lives. Also, make your ads more prominent with text overlays and consistent call to actions (CTAs). CTAs can increase ad recall by +40%.