Build the card-and-link map before producing a Pinterest Showcase ad

01

Why a normal shot list is not enough

A Showcase brief must account for both narrative order and interaction logic.

A conventional shot list may specify a hero image, several product images, and a closing frame. That does not resolve the central questions in a Showcase ad: Which product appears on which card? What does a card-level click open? Which one to three tappable features belong to each supporting card? Does each feature open a product detail page, collection, bundle, quiz, or editorial page? Why does one card follow another?

Pinterest advises advertisers to match featured products with their outbound links and send people directly to relevant pages. It also allows different outbound links within one Showcase ad. Pinterest’s format guidance makes link accuracy part of the creative problem, not an implementation detail to settle after assets are complete.

A card-and-link map turns these decisions into production requirements. Designers receive a defined focal product and copy hierarchy. Ecommerce teams can verify page relevance and availability. Media or campaign operators know which source to use for each feature. Approvers can evaluate the assembled journey instead of signing off on attractive but disconnected files.

02

Create one source of truth for every card and feature

Use one row per title or supporting card, with nested rows for its tappable features.

The map below is a planning framework, not a Pinterest-mandated template. Build it in a brief, database, or structured worksheet that every production owner can access. Avoid separating the storyboard, URL sheet, and crop approvals unless those records are reliably connected; disconnected documents make it easier for an old URL or rejected visual to reach campaign setup.

Record the exact product identity rather than writing broad labels such as “hero SKU” or “blue version.” Include the product name, variant, color, bundle composition, or collection represented in the asset. When a feature will use a catalog product ID, copy the current identifier into the map and assign someone to verify it before trafficking.

1. Position: Title Pin or supporting card 1–4.
2. Story role: Hook, problem, benefit, demonstration, assortment, proof, comparison, or closing action.
3. Featured product: Exact product, variant, bundle, collection, or use case visible on the card.
4. Primary message: The single idea a viewer should understand before swiping or tapping.
5. Visual direction: Product-only, lifestyle, demonstration, detail, routine, comparison, or another clearly defined treatment.
6. Card destination: The exact page intended for the card-level outbound action.
7. Feature 1–3: The specific product or supporting detail represented by each tappable tile.
8. Feature source: URL, existing Pin with a URL, or exact catalog product ID.
9. Feature destination: The exact PDP, collection, bundle, quiz, or editorial page that continues the feature’s promise.
10. Swipe rationale: Why this card follows the previous card and what new information it adds.
11. Crop requirement: 2:3 master, focal point, negative space, and any required mobile crop notes.
12. Safe-zone status: Confirmation that essential copy, logos, and disclosures remain visible.
13. Copy checks: Overlay word count and feature-title character count.
14. QA owner: Named person responsible for creative, merchandising, and destination approval.

03

Storyboard the swipe sequence from promise to decision

Move from recognition to evaluation and then to action, while giving every card a distinct job.

The format does not require a particular narrative order. The sequence below is an editorial starting point for D2C brands. Adapt it to the buying decision, product complexity, campaign funnel stage, and number of cards available. Do not add cards simply to fill every possible position.

The title Pin should establish the broad promise: a collection, need state, launch, routine, use case, or campaign idea. Use the broadest destination that remains directly relevant. A campaign collection page may make sense; an unrelated homepage usually weakens continuity between the promise and the landing experience.

Supporting card 1 should make the offer concrete. Lead with the hero product or the item that explains the collection fastest. If the card shows several products, its tappable features should identify products that are genuinely visible or clearly represented.

Supporting card 2 can demonstrate a benefit, use case, differentiator, or routine step. The visual should advance the viewer’s understanding rather than repeat the title composition with different copy. Its destination should continue that specific benefit story.

Supporting card 3 can expand the assortment through variants, complementary items, or a complete routine. One useful structure is to send the card-level action to a relevant collection while sending individual feature taps to the corresponding product pages. This is a planning choice, not a default; use it only when both destination levels match what the viewer sees.

Supporting card 4 should help resolve the decision. Depending on the product, that may mean a bundle, comparison, gifting angle, product detail, or concise purchase prompt. Do not force generic urgency into the final card. The destination should complete the story presented there.

1. Write a one-sentence campaign promise for the title Pin.
2. Give each supporting card one new question to answer.
3. Identify the product evidence required to answer that question visually.
4. Assign card-level and feature-level destinations before requesting final art.
5. Read only the card roles in order; revise any sequence that repeats, jumps topics, or introduces an unexplained product.
6. Confirm that the final card leads naturally to the page selected for the closing action.

04

Map tappable features to exact products and pages

A feature should identify something the viewer can recognize and take them to the page that accurately represents it.

Pinterest says each supporting card requires one to three features. A feature can be sourced from a URL, an existing Pin that has a URL, or an exact catalog product ID entered in lowercase. Pinterest’s Showcase instructions describe these available sources.

Choose the source during planning because it affects campaign assembly and QA. If a catalog item is being used, verify the ID against the current catalog rather than relying on a name copied from a creative document. If a URL is being used, preserve the full approved destination and tracking parameters in the map.

Pinterest notes that card Pins created separately before campaign setup are limited to links on the advertiser’s claimed website, while the title Pin and feature Pins can link elsewhere. Its documentation recommends creating Pins in Ads Manager when another site or landing page is needed. Review the linking restriction before production, especially for retailer pages, marketplace destinations, partner sites, or campaign landing pages outside the claimed domain.

Do not use a feature as a vague hotspot. If the tile names a specific moisturizer, colorway, or bundle, the destination should resolve to that same item and context. Avoid sending a visible variant to a generic collection when the exact variant page is available. If the destination cannot support the promise, change the creative or choose a more accurate page.

1. List every product visibly represented on the supporting card.
2. Choose one to three products or details that deserve tappable features.
3. Select the appropriate URL, existing Pin, or catalog product ID for each feature.
4. Record the feature title and keep it within the platform limit.
5. Open the destination and compare its product, variant, bundle contents, imagery, and campaign language with the card.
6. Assign an owner to approve substitutions if inventory or merchandising changes before launch.

05

Set crop, safe-zone, and copy rules before design

Give the design team platform-specific constraints at kickoff, not during final export.

Pinterest’s current ad specifications call for a 2:3 aspect ratio for Showcase title Pins and supporting cards, with 1000 × 1500 pixels recommended for full-bleed assets. Feature images are separate 1:1 static assets. The specifications also limit Showcase text overlay to 10 words and feature titles to 50 characters, after which additional title text is hidden. Review Pinterest’s current product specifications before production in case requirements change.

Pinterest identifies a 342 × 430-pixel safe zone and warns that the bottom 80 pixels of a Showcase card will be covered. Essential text, logos, prices, offer terms, and disclosures should not occupy that covered area. The safe-zone restriction does not apply to feature images. These details should be visible in the brief and approval view, not kept in a separate trafficking note. Pinterest’s specification page is the source of record for these dimensions.

A technically correct crop can still fail editorially. Review every card at mobile size. The product should remain recognizable, the focal point should not compete with interface elements, and the message should be understandable without relying on tiny packaging copy. Pinterest’s general creative guidance recommends a vertical mobile canvas, visible branding, clear product presentation, concise messaging, and specific calls to action. See Pinterest’s creative best practices.

1. Create a 1000 × 1500 master for every title and supporting card.
2. Place a locked safe-zone and bottom-80-pixel overlay on the working file.
3. Keep essential product details, copy, logos, offer terms, and disclosures in approved visible areas.
4. Count overlay words before copy lock; do not expect design to solve an overlong message.
5. Create each feature thumbnail as its own 1:1 static asset.
6. Review cards at realistic mobile size and in sequence, not only as full-resolution files.
7. Record safe-zone approval for every exported version rather than approving the campaign generally.

06

Run destination-link QA twice

Validate links before production lock and again immediately before publication.

The first review protects production from being built around the wrong merchandising structure. The second catches changes in redirects, availability, variants, campaign pages, or tracking. A URL returning a successful page load is not enough; the page must continue the exact product story promised by the creative.

Add tracking parameters without changing the destination’s product meaning. Test the complete URL on mobile, including redirects, and confirm that required parameters survive. If a product is unavailable or a bundle has changed, do not silently redirect the viewer to a generic page. Escalate the mismatch so the destination, creative, or campaign timing can be deliberately revised.

During setup, select supporting Pins in the intended display order and use Pinterest’s Preview Pin step to inspect the assembled execution. Pinterest states that the complete Showcase ad cannot be saved, although individual cards and features can be saved as Pins. Pinterest’s Showcase workflow should therefore be followed carefully when checking the final combination.

1. Open every title, card, and feature destination on a mobile device.
2. Confirm the page displays the product, variant, color, bundle, collection, or content promised by the creative.
3. Check availability and price context without assuming either will remain unchanged after approval.
4. Verify that redirects retain approved tracking parameters.
5. Compare each destination against the final export, not an earlier storyboard thumbnail.
6. Assemble supporting cards in the documented swipe order.
7. Use Preview Pin to inspect the complete sequence and interaction context.
8. Log approval, date, owner, and any exception for every link.

07

Preserve the decisions after launch

Store what was intended, what changed, and what should be reused—not just the final image files.

Pinterest reports Showcase measures including outbound clicks, impressions, swipes, saves, and closeups. Pinterest lists these reporting measures in its Showcase documentation. Interpret them in the ad platform alongside the campaign setup and delivery context.

The reusable creative record should explain what each card attempted to communicate, which product it showed, why it occupied that swipe position, and where each interaction led. When a destination changes or a new iteration replaces a card, retain the relationship between the original brief, exported asset, approval, and subsequent learning.

ATIYO can organize that roadmap, brief, brand context, asset, iteration, and reusable learning in one creative-strategy workflow. It does not connect to Pinterest ad accounts, buy media, calculate ROAS, or automatically know performance. Media performance remains in the ad platform, and ATIYO preserves creative context and learnings. Record relevant results manually when they should inform the next brief.

For teams that want a structured operating layer, ATIYO offers a card-confirmed seven-day trial before billing begins. Use it to build the map and production record; the planning method itself works in any reliable shared system.

1. Archive the approved card-and-link map with the published exports.
2. Record any last-minute card-order, copy, product, or URL changes.
3. Bring relevant platform observations into the creative record manually.
4. Separate evidence from interpretation when writing a learning.
5. Turn useful observations into a specific requirement or hypothesis for the next iteration.