Pinterest has expanded its Creator Fund for underrepresented groups to more countries including Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. The Creator Fund was introduced in 2021 with a takeoff fund of $500,000, and added $1.2 million in 2022. In an email to TechCrunch, Pinterest said it has invested a total of over $2.3 million in cash grants and ads credits for this reason in particular.
The Creation Inclusion Fund focuses on helping creators from underrepresented groups with funds and educational resources.
According to Pinterest, the Creation Inclusion Fund has offered support to dozens of creators from the US, the UK and Brazil from inception. The company said these set of people have received training and insights from experts in the field, personalized consulting and financial grant in both cash and ad credits.
“Our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and inspiration is fueled by diversity of experiences, perspectives and communities,” said Zeny Shifferaw, the Creator Inclusion Lead at Pinterest, in a statement. “Expanding this program will unlock more opportunities for disproportionately underrepresented creators and content producers to gain financial support, exposure, resources and reach new audiences looking to be inspired by their passions on our platform.”
In other news, Pinterest has initiated a new alpha test aimed at a new advertising product. The new product called “Premiere Spotlight,” allows brands to reach consumers from a more prominent position within the mobile app.
Advertisers will gain access to a premium placement for 24 hours on the Pinterest app’s search bar. With this, brands will be able to reach more people on Pinterest with one of the app’s main features; including the ability to search for pins, inspiration and ideas.
The new ad format can be located in the app’s most recent version. Already, you can see Kohl’s recent ad where the company is advertising women’s spring apparel.
The short video that plays overlaid by text in the ad is not the only attraction though, there is also a button that takes you to Kohl’s website. The site then opens within the Pinterest app, and not as a separate tab. Users can from there browse the retailer’s product suggestions, search for other items, add items to their cart and check out; the same way they could when visiting the Kohl’s official website directly.
