LONDON: Pinterest has not yet introduced advertising into its model in the UK, but the US social network has been busy working with select UK brands to strengthen their partnerships and share insights.
Engagement with the likes of high-end retailers Waitrose and Marks & Spencer is because Pinterest is "especially interested in long-term partnerships with meaningful brands in the UK", according to Adele Cooper, UK country manager at Pinterest.
Speaking to Marketing Week, she said brands are responsible for two-thirds of the organic content on the sharing site and that users are keen to engage with it.
By providing data and insights for selected brands, Pinterest wants brands to be able to see how users are engaging with content and what they are pinning.
It also forms part of the company's wider strategy to provide "the best Pinner experience possible," she said.
Marks & Spencer confirmed that it now has greater access to the platform's data and a spokesman said this gives it a "more rounded" view of impressions, visitor volume and audience.
Rival grocery chain Waitrose also receives analytics from Pinterest as well as information on trending topics, which has assisted its "Taste of summer" campaign.
"Surfacing emerging trends is another way that we can work with brands to show content that Pinners are looking for and narrow the trends for them even further into inspirational themes," said Cooper.
Commenting on the initiative, Tim Pritchard, head of social media at agency Manning Gottlieb OMD, explained that Pinterest is building its brand relationships carefully.
"Pinterest selects their partners, this hasn't been open to anybody," he said. "This has been the Pinterest team working out which brands feel native and approaching them to work collaboratively."
Meanwhile, brands and advertisers continue to wait for a date to be given for the rollout of "promoted pins" in the UK, a feature that has been operating in the US for some time.
Engagement with the likes of high-end retailers Waitrose and Marks & Spencer is because Pinterest is "especially interested in long-term partnerships with meaningful brands in the UK", according to Adele Cooper, UK country manager at Pinterest.
Speaking to Marketing Week, she said brands are responsible for two-thirds of the organic content on the sharing site and that users are keen to engage with it.
By providing data and insights for selected brands, Pinterest wants brands to be able to see how users are engaging with content and what they are pinning.
It also forms part of the company's wider strategy to provide "the best Pinner experience possible," she said.
Marks & Spencer confirmed that it now has greater access to the platform's data and a spokesman said this gives it a "more rounded" view of impressions, visitor volume and audience.
Rival grocery chain Waitrose also receives analytics from Pinterest as well as information on trending topics, which has assisted its "Taste of summer" campaign.
"Surfacing emerging trends is another way that we can work with brands to show content that Pinners are looking for and narrow the trends for them even further into inspirational themes," said Cooper.
Commenting on the initiative, Tim Pritchard, head of social media at agency Manning Gottlieb OMD, explained that Pinterest is building its brand relationships carefully.
"Pinterest selects their partners, this hasn't been open to anybody," he said. "This has been the Pinterest team working out which brands feel native and approaching them to work collaboratively."
Meanwhile, brands and advertisers continue to wait for a date to be given for the rollout of "promoted pins" in the UK, a feature that has been operating in the US for some time.
Data sourced from Marketing Week; additional content by Warc staff
