Pinterest makes Promoted App Pins available to all advertisers

Dive Brief:

Pinterest announced it is opening its Promoted App Pin ad format to all marketers via a company blog post. Advertisers can buy the new ad format through the Pinterest Ads Manager or Pinterest Marketing Partners, and marketers can get reports on downstream installs from Pinterest’s mobile measurement partners AppsFlyer, Tune, Adjust, Kochava and Apsalar.
Pinterest tested Promoted App Pins and found that 70% of advertisers reached their install goals with the format.
“In a market where many new mobile ad vendors offer minimal differentiation, Pinterest stands out. Thanks to audience and targeting capabilities, we were able to significantly increase yields for Gordon Ramsay DASH through Promoted Pins,” said John Parides, Head of User Acquisition, Glu Mobile, in the blog post.

Dive Insight:

App install is a popular ad format on social media, with major players already offering their own versions. Twitter released a new native app install ad product last September. Snapchat lined up to challenge Facebook on the format by providing direct response specialists access to its API for app install ads last November.

Pinterest has been a relatively quiet social media platform. The landscape has been crowded with noise generated by Snap Inc.’s IPO, ongoing troubles for Twitter, and Facebook regularly borrowing from the Snapchat user experience and making those features its own. Pinterest has started introducing more tools and products in an effort to expand its reach. The Promoted App Pin announcement gets it back on more even footing in terms of ad products it offers marketers. Last month it announced new search options with an eye toward driving more purchases from its users.

Among social media platforms Pinterest has a robust influencer market and the platform is clearly betting on the power of its pins with the new roll out. The company's announcement highlighted the ability for users to discover mobile apps tied closely to content they are already engaged with as a strength, asserting that those users are more loyal over time.

Time will tell how well the new Promoted App Pins live up to Pinterest's claims. Mobile app install ads have been on the rise, driven in part by the increasing amount of time consumers spend in apps on their mobile devices. If it can deliver on its promises, Pinterest's announcement offers marketers a potential new tool to add to their mobile arsenal.