Macy's summer campaign heads outside with Pinterest Pincodes

Dive Brief:

Macy’s launched an out-of-home experiential campaign that calls on consumers to use their phones at summer gathering places around the nation, according to information shared with Marketing Dive. Pop-up stations in places including Central Park, The Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the Santa Monica Pier feature Pinterest Pincodes that consumers can scan with their phones to be directed to a board with outfits curated for that specific location.
The Pinterest boards then link to shoppable pages, where users can purchase the suggested items. The effort, which was developed by BBDO New York, also includes Facebook and Instagram content showcasing summer moments via short stories.
Macy’s is also rolling out a series of YouTube videos with fashion tutorials from Macy’s Style Crew members and vendor partners taking a look at women across the beauty industry. These videos will include tips on how to dress and use cosmetics.

Dive Insight:

Macy's is making mobile and digital a key focus for its summer marketing strategy at a time when its physical retail is struggling. Last week, the retail giant reported that its first quarter revenue dropped to $5.5 billion from $5.54 billion in the year-ago quarter, yet the firm reported double-digit growth in e-commerce and mobile, which it said continues to be its fastest-growing channel.

Consumers are often on-the-go during the summer months and Macy's is placing mobile-enabled activations in popular locations to get in front of them. The push could appeal to younger consumers, who research suggests are interested in experiences and mobile-driven retail. The Pinterest integration puts summer catalogs in people’s hands through their phones, and with shoppable integration, these curated pages are more cost effective than a print catalog.

Macy's summer campaign is the latest holiday effort from the retailer to focus on digital and mobile. For the holiday shopping season last year, Macy’s created personalized gift guides for holiday shoppers with shoppable Instagram stories.

This latest partnership showcases Pinterest's growing focus on making the platform more shoppable. Partnerships with major retailers like Macy's will be important for the social media platform, which became a publicly-traded company for the first time earlier this year. The company recently saw its share value drop after revealing a greater loss than expected, even though revenues grew 54% year-over-year.