PINTEREST IN HUNT FOR REVENUE FROM SMALLER FIRMS

Pinterest Inc. is pursuing small and medium-size businesses for ad revenue. With a $ 100/day ad commitment, Pinterest Propel offers extra support, education and ad design. Marketing agencies can get customized tips from Pinterest ad specialists for three clients. Pinterest is recruiting smaller advertisers in part because people go to to the site for inspiration, posting and searching for pictures to plan vacations, weddings and cooking, for example — and the ads look similar to posts from any other user. Pinterest president Tim Kendall says that while SMEs aren’t big marketing spenders, in aggregate small firms are a huge source of ad revenue for Google and Facebook. Pinterest is an emerging rival to Google’s search business, as the startup knows a lot about what people want to buy. The company is diversifying its ad business ahead of a potential IPO; it’s targeting more than US$500 million in revenue this year. Kendall expects Propel to contribute up to 25 per cent of sales in the next few years.