Pinterest and Zillow have launched a new advertising partnership. The deal gives brands a sharper way to reach people interested in housing topics. Advertisers who work through Zillow’s ad business, Zillow Elevate, can now target Pinterest users based on Zillow’s consumer segments. These segments come from real housing behavior, not broad demographic guesses.
How the Partnership Works
The deal links Zillow’s audience insights with Pinterest’s ad platform. Zillow shares its first-party audience segments through Pinterest’s Media Network Connect. As a result, brands can serve ads to Pinterest users based on housing interests and behaviors that Zillow identifies on its own platform.
Specialty Segments Take Center Stage
The announcement highlights specialty audience categories. Through the deal, Zillow can help brands target Pinterest users based on niche consumer segments, including fixer-uppers and home buyers. In total, advertisers can tap into 34 consumer segments. These cover buyers, renters, sellers, homeowners, recent homeowners, and fixer-upper shoppers.
Why This Matters
People often use Pinterest to plan and gather inspiration. They browse ideas for home design, renovations, paint colors, furniture, and future moves. Many of them already have big housing decisions on their minds. This partnership pairs that behavior with Zillow’s housing-intent data. Brands can then reach people earlier and more accurately along the home journey.
Zillow bases its targeting on real user behavior and more than 200 housing-related signals. The company frames this as a smarter option than broad demographic categories. In practice, brands can focus campaigns on people who are likely planning a move, weighing a purchase, or upgrading a home.
What Zillow and Pinterest Say
Zillow’s leaders point to the scale of a typical move. “Moving is one of the most significant life moments people experience, and it comes with a lot of planning and decision-making, much of which happens on Pinterest,” said Brent Rosso, vice president of Media Ad Strategy at Zillow. “This partnership allows us to extend our audience insights beyond Zillow to help brands connect with the right high-intent users on Pinterest.”
Pinterest sees the platform as a place where users take action. “When someone searches for home ideas on Pinterest, they’re often in the middle of a longer journey; exploring neighborhoods, planning renovations or getting ready for a move,” said Chloe Wix, vice president of GTM & Innovation at Pinterest. “People come here to move from inspiration to action, and partnering with Zillow gives brands a way to reach people across the home journey, using a wide range of audience data built from real housing behavior.”
What Pinterest Gains
Pinterest also benefits from the deal. The partnership expands its ad targeting tools. It also strengthens Pinterest’s role as a place where users move from inspiration to purchase. Brands in home improvement, furnishings, appliances, insurance, and moving services now get a more direct line to relevant audiences.
Early Results From the Kohler Pilot
Zillow shared strong numbers from the first test. Kohler ran the pilot campaign and tapped into segments like Fixer-Upper Shoppers and Recent Homeowner Purchasers. The campaign delivered 82% more incremental reach than Kohler’s standard Pinterest Performance+ campaigns, which relied on interest and keyword targeting. Video ad units also reached a 23.54% engagement rate.
Part of a Bigger Shift
This deal reflects a larger change in digital advertising. Marketers now seek alternatives to less precise targeting. First-party data and intent-based segments have grown more valuable as a result. The Pinterest and Zillow partnership shows how platforms match ads more closely to what people actively plan or consider.
The Bottom Line
The takeaway is simple. Pinterest and Zillow now let brands reach users based on specific housing interests. The deal also lets brands target Pinterest users through specialty segments, including fixer-uppers and home buyers. That approach gives advertisers a more tailored option than broad-interest targeting alone.
