Pinterest launches programmatic buying to compete for enterprise ad budgets

Pinterest introduced Programmatic Deals on October 26, a programmatic buying solution designed to let media buyers access the platform's display and video inventory through established buying channels. The rollout spans North America, South America and Asia Pacific, marking a significant step in the company's effort to embed itself into enterprise advertising workflows.

How the solution works

Magnite serves as the primary supply-side partner for Programmatic Deals, providing the technical infrastructure that connects Pinterest's ad inventory and audience data to buying platforms. On the demand side, media buyers can purchase through Amazon Ads DVA+, Google Display & Video 360 and Yahoo DSP. In Latin America and Asia Pacific, Google Ad Manager also functions as a supply-side partner.

The solution integrates Pinterest inventory into Magnite Orchestration, an artificial intelligence layer launched in June that enables media buyers to connect their AI agents to Magnite's seller agent for coordinated purchasing.

Early performance and market context

Pinterest demonstrated the capability through a test with beauty brand Moroccanoil, which ran a June campaign using a Magnite-enabled deal through Amazon Ads. The effort achieved 15% higher incremental reach with only 1% audience overlap, 63% more new-to-brand buyers among consumers whose purchase journeys included Pinterest, and a 20% higher click-through rate compared to the brand's typical video and display campaigns.

Programmatic buying's growing importance in digital media makes this move strategically significant. Madison & Wall forecasts that programmatic will represent 74% of total open-internet revenues by 2026, reflecting the industry's shift toward automated purchasing.

Building the programmatic operation

Pinterest has invested in programmatic infrastructure over the past year. In February, the company acquired TvScientific, a connected TV advertising platform focused on automating ad buying. Following the acquisition, Pinterest appointed TvScientific CEO Jason Fairchild as general manager of programmatic and affiliate operations. In May, the company hired Chip Jessop, formerly Amazon's director of global accounts and North America ad tech sales, as its first head of programmatic.

The platform also introduced Visual Search Ads, a performance-focused feature that places advertiser listings in Pinterest search results and Pin closeups, further expanding its programmatic-adjacent offerings.

Scale and existing partnerships

Pinterest operates at significant scale, with 640 million monthly active users and over 80 billion monthly searches. More than half of those searches carry commercial intent. The company already maintains a relationship with Amazon Ads, having designated the platform as its first third-party ad partner in 2023.

Pinterest reported Q2 revenue of $1.18 billion, representing an 18% year-over-year increase. The company is scheduled to release Q3 earnings on October 29 after market close.