10 Great Examples of Pinterest brand usage

Top 10 examples of great brand usage on Pinterest

Sony Electronics http://pinterest.com/sonyelectronics/ is a fantastic example of successful Pinterest use. The pinboards, all ranging from Retro Sony Products to a collection of images shot with a Sony camera, are well kept and effectively attract interest. As well as this, Sony last year ran a fantastic campaign: Pin It to Give It. For every repin, Sony donated $1 to the Michael Phelps Foundation. The campaign raised over $12,500. It engaged with the public while contributing to the Sony brand image as philanthropic and socially responsible.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream is an exemplary Pinterest profile, precisely because it’s more than a profile: it’s a personality. Ben and Jerry’s pinboards range from simple but effective names like ‘Peace’ or ‘Love’ to more complex pinboard ideas such as fan photos, history, and even factory images.

ModCloth.com is an online clothing store, but it utilises Pinterest effectively. Instead of exclusively posting products separated into different pinboards, ModCloth attempts to generate interest by pinning and repinning content that their audience are interested in. For instance, in their album ‘Vintage Vantage’, there are photos from their blog and repinned from other users of vintage life. Mixed in with this are some cool examples of their own vintage clothing.

Unlimited Learning is an example of a small business slowly making their way up in the social media world. Their Pinterest profile also encompasses what their target audience is likely to be interested in, but, in this case, they have no product to sell, because they offer a tutoring service. Marketing a service online is often somewhat more difficult than offering a product, but there are ways to do it.

Unlimited Learning’s pinboards cover Study Tips, Motivation, and other study relevant areas, as well as some subject areas. They’re relevant, useful, and this makes Unlimited Learning look sophisticated and ahead of the game, and that’s the level of quality Unlimited Learning want people to associate with their tutoring service.

Etsy is an online marketplace that you’ve probably heard of. Their Pinterest profile takes a more direct approach than ModCloth – they have pinboards dedicated entirely to their own products. This, however, is likely because Etsy is a one-of-a-kind store and they can afford to do this. Their profile also utilises similar techniques to ModCloth, with products, however, mixed in with other posted and repinned content. As well as this, Etsy utilises the idea of contributor boards, and this gives a different feel to some of the pinboards, whilst being mutually beneficial to both Etsy and the contributor.

General Electric is not a business you’d expect to utilise Pinterest, but they’re surprisingly streets ahead in their online game. GE’s Pinterest profile is so content rich that they’ve amassed over 17 thousand followers, and their 27 boards range from #BrilliantMachines, a campaign based on how their innovations have helped hospital rooms, to Factory Floor, a collection of recent to less recent factory images that give people a view into the production of GE products.

Theory is an online clothing store. Their Pinterest profile adopts quite an effective technique: all of their pinboards are somehow related to the named ‘theory’, ranging from GLOBAL THEORY to MODERN THEORY – their clothing products mixed in with other relevant pins and repins.

DTT Surveillance is an American surveillance company. Not really what you would suspect on Pinterest, right? However, DTT Surveillance has utilised the idea that surveillance videos and imagery, especially of people failing at being bad guys, is hilarious; and it can be extremely popular if utilised correctly. There are also some pinboards dedicated to DTT’s customers, as well as Latest Tech Gadgets.

Honda is a good mix between a normal (but still effective) use of Pinterest, mixed in with other campaigns. There’s an historical side, with a pinboard dedicated to the first Honda, and ‘Things to do in a Honda’, as well as a more interesting ‘Monsters Calling Home’ pinboard about an indie band getting to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live. It’s telling a story.

The Wall Street Journal is another interesting profile. WSJ’s pinboards attempt to establish it as more than an economics or business based newspaper. There are pinboards ranging from WSJ Fashion to WSJ Food and Drink. It’s an interesting idea, and it portrays the identity of the business. Ultimately, the major vein running through this is the idea of identity, of story, and of personality.

Pinterest is a place where users can really interact with their audience, and it’s a great place to show the personality of a brand, especially with the wide reaching ability of Pinterest: you can have innumerable pinboards with different audiences and aims.