ali birston's blog

“Pinterest: where women go to plan imaginary weddings, dress children that don’t exist, and decorate homes they can’t afford.”

Ironically enough, this quote was found from a pin on a board titled “Define Pinterest – ADDICTED”. It made me laugh and at the same time caused me to reflect a little deeper on the underlying reasons people are so addicted to Pinterest and how brands can effectively capitalize on that.

While many large companies such as Whole Foods, Sephora, and Honda and have found creative ways to capitalize on its addictive qualities and garner a following on Pinterest, one campaign in particular caught me by surprise. UNICEF, well-known as the leading charitable organization for children, recently created a Pinterest board that puts our first world materialistic desires to shame.

The page highlights a young 13-year old girl from Sierra Leone named Ami and only has one board “Really want these”. The only six pins on her board include fresh water, soap, and rice – certainly a stark contrast to the lavish outfits, recipes, and wedding rings most commonly drooled over by young women in North America. Users can repin her posts to spread awareness and can also donate by clicking on any one of them.

Not only does this put our wants and needs into perspective but shows that there are certainly interesting new ways for untraditional companies, in this case NGOs, to leverage the wide user base of Pinterest addicts and create strong word-of-mouth.

 

Reference: The (Intentionally) Saddest Pinterest Page in the World