Goal

• Pinterest wanted to understand how users engaged with digital ads across the social network compared to other digital properties in order to highlight the impact of the company’s social advertising solutions

Strategy

• Lumen partnered with Pinterest to conduct a predictive eye-tracking study across 1,800 Pinterest users
• Six different tests analyzed attention metrics for static, standard, and video ad content

Results

• Scroll speed is 3X faster on other social networks compared to Pinterest, indicating Pinterest drives more attention and deeper engagement
• Pinterest drives +62% higher attentive seconds than an average digital out-of-home unit
• Ads on Pinterest are viewed an average of 1-2 seconds and show a 1 in 2 chance of being recalled

Overview 

As a social network, Pinterest often gets overlooked during conversations about digital advertising. But with 450 million monthly users and a unique, personalized format that relies on images and collections instead of user feeds and algorithms, the Pinterest team knew there was a lot of untapped potential for social media marketers that wanted to connect with their audiences.

Pinterest wanted to partner with Lumen in order to see how users really paid attention when they were on the site. This data could then be used to show advertisers the value of Pinterest as an ad platform while also helping the team measure the user experience with visual attention data as a new benchmark for both mobile and desktop environments.

Lumen’s analysis was made up of both user surveys and direct eye-tracking attention panels, which meant that Pinterest could see how consumers talked about their experience with the platform directly as well as observe how they truly viewed ads on the platform. One of the most important findings was that max-width video on Pinterest drove twice as high brand recall as static formats.

Since attention metrics can be understood as cross-media benchmarks, all these measurements showcase the unique relationship Pinterest users have with the platform.

“Why does Pinterest garner more attention? Our theory: it’s a personal platform. People on Pinterest are dreaming about what could happen, not posting about what already did. They’re here to try new things, save new ideas and often, make their next purchase. That means your ad can inspire their future instead of interrupting their past. Because when people on Pinterest are inspired, they don’t zone out—they lean in,” says Rebecca Rangeley, Head of Partner Measurement at Pinterest.

“What this research shows is that the more you engage with the content, the more you engage with the surrounding ads,” explains Tanwa Edua, Lumen’s Chief Strategy Officer. “And because the content on Pinterest is so positive and personalised, the ads on the platform garner high levels of attention.