Pinterest Performance+ and More: A Look at Pinterest’s New AI Advertising Features

In June 2024, Pinterest fully hopped aboard the AI train with a big product launch – including Performance+, a closed-beta version of Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max. 

Initial results are promising and will in theory help drive more results on Pinterest with less effort. Per Pinterest, P+ campaigns are showing:

• 10%+ improvement in cost per acquisition (CPA) for Conversion and Catalog sales campaigns
• 10%+ improvement in CPC for Consideration campaigns
• Huge time savings in campaign creation

That said, if these campaigns are truly similar to Performance Max and Advantage+, there’s a lot to consider before diving in when the beta opens to all advertisers. 

Control what you can control

As with other AI-powered campaigns, Performance+ will likely strip many advertiser controls in the name of letting the algo find and engage users. To make this work most effectively, you’ll need to feed the campaigns high-quality audiences (e.g. high-value customers, repeat converters, SQLs, etc.) to use for signals.

I’m not sure what levers we’ll have at our disposal, but look for the ability to control these features if you can:

• Automated creative control options, like swapping headline and creative combinations (I recommend opting out of those)
• Budget allocation to prospecting vs. retargeting (you don’t want to over-spend on retargeting)
• Product segmentation: if you have different tiers of product prices, consider bucketing similarly priced products into the same campaign and segmenting out the rest. Then use first-party data for customers of those specific products to inform the algorithm who to look for.
  
  

Test different creative types

I’d recommend testing a wide variety of creative types (including catalog) in Performance+ to see what creative type resonates best with different people. The more options and variety in AI-powered campaign types, the better learnings you’ll get.

Earmark budget for Consideration campaigns – with the right expectations

We always recommend that brands invest in a top-of-funnel strategy to keep the funnel fueled with new users at all times – otherwise you risk leaning too heavily on retargeting, fully saturating those audiences, and seeing performance suffer. 

Remember, though, that for Consideration campaigns, your goal should be to get in front of new audiences of people who might have a need for your product/service but might not be ready to convert right at the moment. These campaigns should educate new users and create interest in your brand + products so you’re top of mind when the time is right and they’re ready to convert.

If you decide to invest in these campaigns, make sure you’re setting up reports to assess their effectiveness in introducing quality users to your campaign – and setting up strategies to drive them down the funnel toward purchase.

With Pinterest’s annual revenue up 23% year over year in Q1 and engagement costs creeping higher on Meta, Google, and beyond, it’s a good time for advertisers to consider diversifying their channels. Performance+ campaigns could be a nice option to find and engage the right users – if you put the above tips into play.