November 24, 2017
‘Tis the season we all start panicking about what will land under who’s Christmas tree. Whether it’s family, actual friends (which is a much smaller list than my Facebook friends), or a random colleague (if they happen to be your Secret Santa at work), buying the RIGHT Christmas present can be pretty stressful.
So, to take some of the stress out of the holiday season, Pinterest has a very clever Christmas promotion up its red velvety sleeve – its own version of Secret Santa!
Now, whether or not you’re a Pinner, it’s hard to ignore the power of Pinterest, and the influence it has in driving users towards purchase. According to research, around 93% of active Pinners use the platform to plan for or make purchases, while 52% have found something on Pinterest and made a purchase online.
“Pinners are a giving bunch after all: they’re 35% more likely to buy gifts than non-Pinners and spend 45% more when they do.” says Nancy Jeng, Creative Program Lead at Pinterest. “Pinterest Secret Santa allows people to find friends or family on Pinterest. It then uses the Pinterest API to create custom gift idea boards based on what those friends or family members have been saving.” To me, this seems like the ultimate gift guide. I’m a serious Pinner and find it great when I ‘match’ with someone else. It’s great fun looking at other people’s collections, or when someone follows any of my boards. It makes me wonder if I’ve ever affected people’s purchasing decisions on anything, just because they’ve seen my pins.
Pinterest Secret Santa will provide you with a personalised gift listing, based on each users’ (p)interests. Bearing in mind that 72% of Pinners use the platform to find new ideas for pretty much anything, it’s a good bet that Pinterest data will provide some solid recommendations.
But what if whoever you’re shopping for isn’t on Pinterest? They’ve got that sorted too: “Pinners can select a gift persona that resembles the person they want to give to, from world travellers to pet parents.”
This clearly won’t be as personalised as listings based on their actual Pinterests, but it may still provide some great recommendations, based on broader trends – let’s not forget, Pinterest does facilitate more than 2 billion searches every month.
But the Secret Santa promotion doesn’t stop here. Pinterest is also using it as a cross-integration deal with several major brands.
“Pinterest Secret Santa is also getting help from some heavy-hitting elves. Five major brands will offer up gift ideas. Amazon will provide toys and game ideas, plus their Echo division will offer tech suggestions. Bed Bath & Beyond is supplying ideas for the home. Coca-Cola will serve up a custom message for thoughtful gift givers. CVS Pharmacy will showcase the gifting supplies – wrap, tags, boxes, cards – available in their stores. And Universal Pictures will tease the release of “Despicable Me 3” for the holidays.”
I can’t wait for it to launch and test it out! Naughty or nice, I think this will really help anyone who struggles in the gifting department. And more importantly, if the results of this campaign prove successful, a lot of brands might start considering integrating Pinterest into their social strategy in 2018.