Pinterest Enters the Video Race

As a father of twins under the age of two, I’m curious about the generation into which my kids have been born.

I’ve watched my nephew and niece, 16 and 13 respectively grow up in an age of Nintendo DS, laptop computers, smart phones, tablets, phablets and of course digital video, and think, “Boy, they sure are growing up faster nowadays”. Cue my co-workers calling me the angry grandpa holding a newspaper and yelling, “Get off my lawn!”. That literally happens. Daily. I love ‘em.

Lately, there have been an influx of articles about Centennials or Gen-Z as they’re more commonly referred. Born since 1997, this is the first generation that are true digital natives; even mobile natives. They grew up with iPhones or iPads within reach. Digital pacifiers. There’s a slew of interesting information circulating right now about this generation.

This week in @AdAge, @AshleyRReports discussed how advertisers struggled to reach Millennials and are already planning strategies aimed at Centennials. Taco Bell taking to Periscope is just one example. The recurring theme is video.

While Pinterest might be aimed at a different generation, they made a fascinating move this week when they announced a new feature dubbed, “Pinterest Cinematics”.

Part animated-gif; part video; part “snapchat-hold-your-finger-to-operate-so-that we can call it engagement”, this new experience represents a significant shift for the image-focused social platform.

And I believe it’s brilliant.

Consider how Spotify made news this week by introducing video.

And now Pinterest. The holy grail of photos. The search engine for shoppers.

Whether you need an idea for kitchen tables that fold, recipes that behold or artwork to be sold; this is your social platform.

Well Pinterest now features video. Sorta.

According to their YouTube video, Pinterest Cinematic is NOT video. It’s moving images. Gif-like in nature.

But even more remarkable, their product team built Cinematic so it only works if a user is swiping up or down.

Boom.

Engagement.

Brands want it.

And if you make it fun enough, consumers won’t mind it.

And this is the key. It’s where I return to my nephew, niece, kids and Centennials.

Unless the content of the commercial is exhilarating, we might as well gloss Gen-Z as Gen-S because they will be SKIPPING your ad.

Tell me what you think about Pinterest Cinematic in the comments below.