Pinterest Presents™ Live 2025: HK Digital’s Top 10 Takeaways (and where we’re bullish, curious, or skeptical)
- HK Digital
- Sep 26, 2025
- 5 min read
TL;DR: Pinterest is leaning hard into search-level intent and visual shopping. New Top of Search ads (beta), Local Inventory Ads (wider rollout), and Media Network Connect push Pinterest from inspiration into conversion and measurement. We’re bullish on the high-intent placements and local-to-store bridge, optimistic about the retail-media plumbing, and skeptical (in a healthy way) about how broadly early lift stats will generalize across categories.
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1) “Top of Search” ads bring performance muscle to Pinterest search
What Pinterest announced: Ads can now appear within the first 10 search results and in Related Pins, designed to capture high-intent queries. Early testing showed +29% CTR and +32% more new clickers. Rationale: 96% of top searches are unbranded, and 45% of clicks occur in the top 10 results.
HK Digital POV (Good/Bad/Speculation):
Good: True performance real estate inside Pinterest’s search ecosystem.
Bad: Beta results can over-index to select categories/creatives.
Speculation: Expect competition (and CPCs) to rise quickly on gifting/home/style queries.
How to implement:
Break out high-intent query themes (occasion, room, style, gift) and map creative to each.
Test product-led imagery vs. outcome imagery (before→after, styled looks); monitor new-to-brand.
Benchmark against your best existing Pinterest search placements.
2) Local Inventory Ads (LIA) scale: inspiration → store visit
What Pinterest announced: LIA expands access so retailers can show in-stock nearby items. In cited testing, Canadian Tire saw a +16.5% store-visit rate. Marketing Dive
HK Digital POV:
Good: Native local availability + discovery is perfect for omni-retail.
Bad: Requires clean local feeds (inventory, price, location hours) to avoid poor UX.
Speculation: LIA becomes a BOPIS and last-mile staple for Q4.
How to implement:
Prioritize high-velocity SKUs with reliable local stock; sync inventory often.
Align campaign KPIs with store-visit and calls/directions micro-conversions.
Mirror promo/price logic with your retail partners to prevent mismatch.
3) Media Network Connect: Pinterest ↔ retail/media networks
What Pinterest announced: A new Media Network Connect tool in Ads Manager to link campaign data, catalogs, and conversions with retail/media networks for better measurement and interoperability. Marketing Dive
HK Digital POV:
Good: Moves Pinterest toward cleaner attribution and retail media workflows.
Bad: Real value depends on partner data quality and deduplication rigor.
Speculation: Expect deeper closed-loop reporting with more retail partners.
How to implement:
Map out source-of-truth conversions (site vs. retailer) and define dedupe rules.
Pilot with a single retail partner to validate incrementality before scaling.
Document data contracts (refresh frequency, IDs, taxonomy) with partners.
4) Shopping boosters: Where-to-Buy, Promotions, and Wide Shopping Ads
What experts noted: Coverage clusters lower-funnel upgrades—Where-to-Buy links, automated promotion/discount highlighting, and Wide Shopping Ads (larger, more visual shopping units). These aim to compress browse → buy.
HK Digital POV:
Good: Clearer price/promo cues in a visual feed = fewer abandonments.
Bad: Feed hygiene becomes make-or-break (pricing, variants, availability).
Speculation: “Deal” surfaces will perform disproportionately during BFCM.
How to implement:
Audit price/sale attributes weekly; ensure promo start/stop aligns with ad flights.
Use creative that shows the offer (price, % off, bundle/GWP) in-frame.
Reserve Wide Shopping for top-margin SKUs/categories first.
5) Pinterest’s differentiation: shopping is visual (not just keywords)
What the press echoes: Pinterest positions itself as the visual shopping funnel—“you often know it when you see it,” which underpins the Top-of-Search + shopping ad cluster. MediaPost
HK Digital POV:
Good: Visual storytelling is Pinterest’s superpower; lean into context (room, outfit, routine).
Bad: Generic catalog shots underperform; invest in use-case imagery.
Speculation: Expect more video + product feed formats.
How to implement:
Build visual decision sets per category (on-model, styled room, UGC-style, detail zooms).
Test label overlays (price, promo, urgency) vs. clean imagery by audience segment.
Use sequenced boards (inspiration → shortlist) to mimic real planning behavior.
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6) Gen Z momentum is real—and shaping the roadmap
What the data says: Pinterest cites that 39% of Gen Z prefer to start product searches on Pinterest, underpinning its search and retail-media moves. Marketing Dive
HK Digital POV:
Good: Gen Z “vision boards” convert when paired with shoppable units.
Bad: Creative fatigue hits faster; velocity matters.
Speculation: Short-form video + shoppable units will out-kick static in peak weeks.
How to implement:
Build a Gen Z creative bank (short-form, text-on-image, UGC-style hooks).
Rotate offers weekly in Q4; use new-to-brand as a north-star KPI.
7) Scale check: ~578M MAUs (addressable reach matters)
What outlets report: Pinterest continues to cite ~578M monthly active users, reinforcing that these products matter at scale. Social Media Today
HK Digital POV:
Good: Big enough for full-funnel programs (inspiration → conversion).
Bad: Scale attracts competition; creative distinctiveness becomes a lever.
Speculation: Auction dynamics will tighten on “gift,” “home,” “beauty” terms.
How to implement:
Pair top-funnel inspiration with Top-of-Search and Shopping for capture.
Segment by margin/inventory tiers via feed labels to defend ROAS under pressure.
8) Performance+ and automation (with more control)
What’s in play: Performance-oriented tooling (e.g., ROAS bidding, image cropping/creative optimizations) continues to be emphasized alongside simpler setup—press groups these within 2025 updates.
HK Digital POV:
Good: Faster launch + smarter creative without losing all the dials.
Bad: Need transparency into learning phases and asset-level impact.
Speculation: Expect gradual reporting granularity (asset, placement) as adoption grows.
How to implement:
Spin up net-new Performance+ campaigns (don’t convert your best legacy structures).
Start with tROAS and strict feed hygiene; expand only after stable CPA/ROAS.
9) Early brand proof points (watch this space)
What we’re seeing: Coverage cites early testers and retail pilots (e.g., Wayfair for Top-of-Search lift; Canadian Tire for LIA). Use as directional, not gospel, until Pinterest posts full case details.
HK Digital POV:
Good: Encouraging signal that query-adjacent ads can move CTR/new-to-brand.
Bad: Vertical variance will be real; do not extrapolate 1:1.
Speculation: Home & decor, beauty, gifting likely over-index first.
How to implement:
Pre-define success deltas (CTR, new clickers, add-to-cart) before tests.
Run geo or audience split tests to estimate incrementality (not just lift).
10) Momentum & monetization backdrop
Why it matters: Business/market press frames these launches as monetization accelerants aligned to usage growth—context for budget owners deciding whether Pinterest earns more Q4 dollars.
HK Digital POV:
Good: Clearer path from discovery → purchase → measurement.
Bad: Complexity rises (feeds, partners, promos).
Speculation: Brands with clean catalogs, sharp promos, and disciplined testing will win first.
How to implement:
Stand up a 4-week pilot (Top-of-Search + LIA + promo surfaces) on 1–2 categories.
Build a single-view scorecard (MER, new-to-brand, store-visit rate) and decide scale by week 5.
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Sources & further reading
Marketing Dive — product details and performance stats on Top of Search, LIA, Media Network Connect (Sept 25, 2025). Marketing Dive
Search Engine Journal — announcement roundup incl. Top of Search + retail/media integrations. Search Engine Journal
MediaPost — framing the visual shopping funnel and ad capabilities.
Pinterest Business — Pinterest Presents hub (replays/highlights as they publish). Pinterest
Analyst lens (Benzinga) — monetization angle and expert sentiment. Benzinga
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