Pinterest has introduced the ability
to bid on cost-per-impression through an auction-based platform to set prices similar to the Google Display
Network. Previously, CPM-based ads were bought at a fixed price.The model introduced Thursday, Ads Manager, adds to the ability to buy ads based on cost-per-click and
cost-per-engagement through the auction, Marketers also can specify the maximum number of times that someone sees your campaign by setting a frequency cap which, in theory, could help the
campaign gain more impressions at increasingly efficient rates that drive higher results, according to a blog post.
Home Depot, JCPenney and General Mills were test partners for the
program, Pinterest said, but now the offering has rolled out to all businesses in the U.S., the UK and Canada. While larger brands work with a Pinterest rep or an ad-tech
company to organize their media buys, the self-serve option is open only to small and medium-size brands.
An internal audit suggests that those who pin are 47% more
likely to be introduced to new brands versus people on other social platforms, which is the plan, according to Pinterest.
Growth plans also took Pinterest to Seattle, where the
company opened an engineering hub with plans to hire 30 people, according to one
report.
Mukund Narasimhan, a former Google, Facebook and Amazon engineer, will head up the
new Seattle office to help the company solve some tough technology challenges.