Pinterest Campaign Workflow

General

This article outlines the campaign workflow for configuring and activating standard Pinterest campaigns, which entails:

• Syncing campaigns and ad groups from Pinterest campaigns with Flight Control campaigns.
• Configuring your campaign decisioning logic to toggle ads on and off on Pinterest.
• Generating and rendering ads based on the campaign logic.
• Publishing generated ads to Pinterest under the specified ad groups.
• Collecting insights and analytics, which are then integrated into cross-channel dashboards.

Note: Flight Control doesn't serve Pinterest ads directly. Instead, it generates all possible ad variations for each ad group in advance, publishes the ads to the Pinterest ad groups, and toggles ads (on/off) in real time to perform dynamic creative optimization (DCO).

Ad Types & Specifications

You can use the following ad types for Pinterest campaigns:

• Standard Image Ad
• Standard Video Ad
• Max Width Video Ad 
• Carousel (2-5 images per carousel ad)

The following creative template and image/video asset specifications exist:

• Creative Types: Image and Video
• Standard Image Ad Size: 
  • 1000 x 1500
  • 2:3 aspect ratio
• Standard Video Ad Size: 
  • square (1:1) 1080×1080 px (1920×1920 px also accepted)
  • vertical (2:3) 1080×1620 px
  • 4:5 1080×1350 px (keeps within 1080–2000px range)
  • 9:16 1080×1920 px
  • Keep dimensions taller than 1.91:1 (width:height) and shorter than 1:2.  
• Max Width Video: 
  • Max Width Video supports horizontal formats (e.g., 16:9, 4:3, 1:1) and cannot be taller than 1:1. Vertical formats (like 2:3 or 9:16) aren’t supported for Max Width. 
  • 1:1 – 1080×1080 px or 1920×1920 px
  • Title: Up to 100
  • Description: Up to 800 (will not show when viewing the Pin, used for algorithm only)
  • Max-width video runs horizontally across both columns of the feed.
  • Recommended Duration: 4 seconds to 15 minutes supported (6 to 15 seconds recommended).

Supported ad placements

• Pinterest placements that support the ad types above.

Supported objectives

• Standard Image Ads: Brand Awareness, Consideration, Conversions
• Standard Video Ads: Brand Awareness, Consideration, Conversions, Video Completion
• Max Width Video Ads: Brand Awareness, Video Completion
• Carousel Image Ads: Brand Awareness, Consideration, Conversions

Supported metrics

• 1st Quarter
• 1st Quarter Rate
• Mid Point
• Mid Point Rate
• 3rd Quarter
• 3rd Quarter Rate
• CPA
• CPC
• CPM
• Click Through Rate
• Clicks
• Completed
• Completion Rate
• Conversion Rate
• Conversions
• Cost
• Impressions
• ROAS
• Sales
• Reach

User Permissions 

• You need the Campaigns user permission to create and edit campaigns.

Prerequisites

• Integrate with a Pinterest account.
• Have creatives stored in your account's Creative Library that apply to your social media campaign type.
• Ensure the person completing the integration meets the following account and permission requirements:
  • Have valid login credentials for a Pinterest Business account.
    • If you're an employee within the client/brand organization, you need to have an Employee role in Pinterest Business Manager and Campaign access to the specific ad account(s) that need to be integrated with Clinch. 
    • If you're an employee within an agency setting this up on behalf of a brand, you need to have a Partner role in Pinterest Business Manager and Campaign access to the specific ad account(s) that need to be integrated with Clinch.
      • For more information, refer to Pinterest Business Manager - Access, Roles, and Permissions.
  • Ensure there is a blank placeholder/draft ad created within the Pinterest campaign's ad group(s).
  • Click on the Publish button in the Pinterest campaign to be able to view and sync the campaign in Flight Control.
     

Pinterest Campaign Workflow 

Once you've started a new campaign by clicking Create from the Campaigns page and selecting Pinterest > Standard Campaign as the campaign type, follow the steps below to set up and activate your Pinterest campaign in Flight Control.

At a high level, the setup process follows the steps outlined in the campaign header:

1. Configure General Campaign Settings.
2. Sync Pinterest Ad Groups with Flight Control.
3. Configure the Campaign Logic.
4. Generate and Render Ads.
5. Publish Ads.
6. Activate the Campaign Version.

1. Configure General Campaign Settings

The Campaign Homepage is the first step of the campaign, where you can: 

1. Add a campaign description.
2. Select any premium services (e.g., Sports, Weather).
3. Add campaign tags for reporting purposes.

2. Sync Pinterest Ad Groups with Flight Control

1. Navigate to the campaign's Ad Groups step of the workflow in the campaign header.
   • This is where you can connect your Flight Control campaign to your Pinterest advertising account.
2. Click Add.
3. Select a Pinterest account.
4. Select a Pinterest campaign.
5. Click OK.
   • This process can take a few seconds. Once finished, all connected Pinterest campaign ad groups will be displayed.

Flight Control will sync the ad groups from the Pinterest campaign.

3. Configure the Campaign Logic

1. Go to the Campaign Logic step in the campaign header.
   • This is where you can configure your decisioning logic to toggle ads on and off on Pinterest.
2. Add and connect decision cards to your campaign card as needed for your strategy:
   • Product Selection Card - This card selects a product from a product feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
   • Content Selection Card - This card selects a content item from a content feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
   • Condition Card - This card conditions by one or more attributes (usually ad groups) and selects which card output and creative to use for an impression.
   • Schedule Card - This card lets you perform campaign actions like dayparting and other date/time ad-serving specifications.
   • Distribution Card - This card generates multiple ads for each ad group based on the number of card outputs used. The social media platform optimizes the ad serving between these ads using their personal optimization methods.
   • Creative Cards - Each creative card represents one or more ads that will be created for the social platform. Social campaign creatives come from your account's Creative Library.
3. Open the Creative Card Settings pane to customize each creative. Choose between Image Ad, Video Ad, Max Width Video Ad, or Carousel Ad. See the table below for information on fields in Pinterest campaign creative cards:

Field	Description	Image	Video	Carousel
Ad Name	Allows you to define the name of the ad that will be created. If no name is entered, the creative name is used. Note: Ad names have a 400-character limit.	Yes	Yes
Title	Allows you to add a primary text headline that summarizes the main message or purpose of your Pin. Note: Titles have a 100-character limit. Depending on the device type and feed layout, only the first 40 characters are guaranteed to display immediately in the home feed or search results. If the field is left blank and no pre-existing Rich Pin title is available, no title text is displayed.	Yes	Yes	Yes, per item
Landing Page URL	Lets you enter the URL to use as the ad's landing page.	Yes	Yes	Yes, per item
Description Optional	Text that provides details and context about the product or service being promoted. Note: Descriptions have an 800-character limit.	Yes	Yes	Yes, per item
Tracking (Click trackers and impression trackers)	Secure URLs embedded in the ad to measure and audit user impressions and clicks through external analytics vendors.	Yes	Yes	Yes

Tip: You can copy and paste cards from one campaign to another within the same account using Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + C and Command + V (Mac). Only cards that are relevant to a specific campaign type can be pasted in the campaign map. If the creative for a duplicated creative card doesn't exist in the target account's Creative Library, the creative will be added.

4. Generate and Render Ads

Once the campaign logic has been set up without any errors, the Generate Ads icon on the far-right section of the header will become highlighted.

You must now generate all possible ad variations (outcomes) from your campaign map logic:

1. Click Generate Ads within the campaign's header to start the process of generating ads. Once ads have been generated, the system will automatically start rendering the ads.
   • You'll be directed to the campaign's Ads step once ads start generating.
2. Review your rendered ad variations within the Ads table.
   • Note: These are simulated social media previews. Minor preview discrepancies may exist before publishing ads to a social media platform.
3. Optional. Update ad variation elements individually or in bulk as needed (examples: primary text, headline, and CTA changes).

Note: The campaign logic will be locked once ad generation begins. Changes made to the campaign's feeds or creatives won't affect the campaign unless you click Generate Ads again.

5. Publish Ads

Once all ads have been automatically generated, the Publish icon on the far right section of the header will become highlighted, indicating that ads are ready to be published.

1. Click Publish to upload the generated ads to the Pinterest platform. This will bring up the Publish Ads window, where you can:

   Review the number of ads being published, updated, or deleted between the last version and the current version being published. Choose whether to pause all ads from the previous version or keep them running until the new version activates. Decide whether to permanently delete or simply turn off ads marked for deletion in the connected social media account. Choose whether the campaign version should activate automatically after ads are published, with options to enter a custom version name and description. Schedule a future activation time and determine what happens if ads fail to publish or are rejected by the social platform. Select how you want to activate the campaign: Once the first ad is approved (Recommended) Once all ads complete the review process, and at least one is approved Only if all ads are approved Click Publish and Activate or Publish, depending on the previously selected activation settings.

   2. Await the "published" status for all ad variations in the Ads step.
      • Note: Campaign version actions are disabled while ads are being published to social media platforms.

If publishing is successful, all ad variations in the Ads step will display a "published" status, and their social media platform ad IDs will populate. At this point, Flight Control uses actual social media placement renderings for creative previews.

Ads published to social media platforms are paused until you activate your Flight Control campaign.

6. Activate the Campaign Version

Once ads are successfully published, the Activate icon on the far-right section of the Header will become highlighted, indicating that the campaign version is ready to be activated.

To activate the campaign version:

Click Activate in the campaign Header. The Activate Ads window will be displayed. Optional. Enter a custom version name. Optional. Enter a version description. Select the Set time for future activation  checkbox and enter a day and time for the version to activate on. To cancel the scheduled activation, click the "x" symbol of the Scheduled Activation badge in the campaign header. You can then click Activate to initiate or reschedule activation. Select how you want to activate the campaign: Once the first ad is approved (Recommended) Once all ads complete the review process, and at least one is approved Only if all ads are approved Click Activate.

The campaign version will be "locked" by default after activation. Once a campaign version is activated, Flight Control will begin serving ads on Pinterest, toggling ads on and off according to your campaign map configurations.

Important: Once your campaign is running on the social platform, you must make changes to Flight Control-related ads directly within Flight Control, not the social platform. Otherwise, unintentional changes and data overwrites may occur.

Note: Pinterest previews inside Flight Control will always be simulated previews ( even after publishing). However, for published ads, a link will be provided that will route you to the actual published ad preview directly in Pinterest.