JCPenney
Holiday shoppers start on Pinterest. With Top of Search ads, JCPenney showed up first.
Goal
For shoppers, the moment of decision often happens before they ever reach a product page. They're searching, scrolling, and forming opinions in real time, and for a brand like JCPenney, appearing in the right place at the right time is everything.
During the 2025 holiday season, JCPenney and their agency, dentsuX, wanted to test more ways to connect high-intent shoppers actively searching for fashion and gift inspiration, the goal was clear: get JCPenney's products in front of the right people at the exact moment they were ready to discover something new.
Strategy
JCPenney and dentsuX activated Pinterest's Top of Search ads through the Catalog sales objective, placing their products directly in the search gallery and within the top ten slots of search results and Related Pins. It was a full takeover moment, reaching shoppers at the precise point where browsing turns into buying.
The timing was deliberate. With 45% of clicks happening¹ within the top ten search results, owning that real estate during the holiday season meant JCPenney wasn't just participating in the conversation. They were leading it.
"
Pinterest is keeping brands discoverable. The platform’s investments in shoppability, helps us put our fashion and deals in front of the right shoppers at the right moment and the big improvement in clicks and conversions show the value.”
Marisa Thalberg
CMO, Catalyst Brands
Results
The results made a strong case for showing up first. Compared to JCPenney's business-as-usual consideration campaigns, their Top of Search holiday ads drove a 277% higher click-through rate and a 116% higher return on ad spend. Owning the top of search didn't just drive awareness. It drove action.
More than two times higher CTR:
Higher click-through rate with Top of Search ads compared to business-as-usual consideration campaigns
116% higher ROAS:
delivered by Top of Search ads compared to their business-as-usual consideration campaigns
Explore Related Resources
Pinterest Top of Search Ads
The central product of the entire story, readers who want to replicate JCPenney's results, need to know how to activate this. A link to a help page or product overview would be the most logical next step.
Pinterest Catalog Sales / Shopping on Pinterest
The Catalog sales objective was what made the Top of Search activation turnkey for JCPenney, and it's a practical entry point for other retail advertisers reading this story. A resource explaining how to set up and use the Catalog sales objective would give readers a clear path to try this themselves.