Strategic partnership architecture.
The Moment
Michaels wanted to transform its relationship with Pinterest from a traditional paid media partnership into a strategic growth platform spanning merchandising, creators, retail media, stores, digital experiences, and customer engagement. The opportunity extended beyond buying media. It required defining how two brands with complementary strengths could create value together while delivering measurable business outcomes for both organizations.
The Insight
Pinterest owns inspiration. Michaels owns creation.
The greatest opportunity wasn't another media campaign—it was closing the gap between the moment customers discover an idea and the moment they bring it to life. If the partnership could connect those two behaviors across every customer touchpoint, it could create value well beyond paid media for Michaels, Pinterest, creators, and customers alike.
The Strategy
Design a repeatable partnership model rather than a series of disconnected campaigns.
Build a strategic framework that united merchandising, stores, digital, creators, retail media, and measurement around one customer journey—from inspiration to creation. Develop a scalable operating model that could activate Pinterest trends through Michaels' retail calendar while establishing shared success metrics for both organizations.
The Work
Developed the end-to-end strategic architecture for the partnership, including:
Partnership vision, narrative, and executive positioning
Creative platform and customer journey ("Found It. Made It.")
Omnichannel partnership model spanning stores, digital, media, creators, and retail experiences
Executive top-to-top strategy presentations for Michaels and Pinterest leadership
Joint measurement framework balancing Michaels commercial KPIs with Pinterest platform objectives
Retail media valuation model quantifying the value of Michaels' owned ecosystem and customer reach
Executive governance model, execution roadmap, and cross-functional operating mechanisms
Creative brief and strategic direction for creator-led seasonal activations tied to Pinterest Predicts trends
Negotiation strategy supporting joint business planning and long-term partnership development
The Impact
Reframed the relationship from a traditional media buy into a strategic business partnership with shared objectives, a unified measurement approach, and a repeatable operating model. The work established a common strategic vision across merchandising, marketing, media, analytics, operations, and Pinterest leadership while providing the commercial framework, governance model, and measurement architecture needed to support future partnership growth.