Sharethrough Sponsored Stories Enables Brands to Promote Original Content through Native Ads across the Web

New solution from leading native advertising company allows brands like Land Rover to promote and amplify the reach of articles, sponsored posts, media coverage and more

SAN FRANCISCO – Native advertising company Sharethrough today announced the launch of Sharethrough Sponsored Stories, the first native advertising solution that allows brands to promote articles, posts, reviews and more across the open web. With Sharethrough Sponsored Stories, marketers can expand their promotion of non-video content beyond Facebook and Twitter to include native placements across Sharethrough’s network of top-tier digital publishers. Popular British car manufacturer Land Rover is among the first to use Sharethrough Sponsored Stories in its content marketing programs, along with Pop Secret and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Sharethrough Sponsored Stories was designed to allow brands to promote their original content into the organic flow of publisher site content. The Sharethrough Sponsored Stories media unit fits with the unique look-and-feel of each site it appears on, allowing brand media to be well-integrated into a publisher’s web property. Sharethrough’s technology allows any URL to be converted to a native ad placement across Sharethrough’s network, providing maximum customization for advertisers without requiring a time-consuming setup and production process.

The Sponsored Stories product can function as a stand-alone distribution platform for a brand’s original editorial content or to amplify the rollout of a new video campaign. Marketers can use the solution to promote a variety of different content, including:

Sponsored Posts: Drive more impressions for paid articles on 3rd-party publisher sites

Media Partnerships: Direct attention to articles generated from media partnerships

Branded Micro-sites: Extend the reach of original branded content from micro-site properties

3rd-party product reviews: Increase visibility for positive product reviews

Launch partners include Land Rover, National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s “MS Connections” Campaign and Pop Secret Labs, who is experimenting with technology to make movie watching and popcorn even more social and fun.

“Creating compelling original content is a core part of building the Land Rover brand online. New methods of distribution such as Sharethrough Sponsored Stories, which allow us to promote our content in an integrated way, are appealing to us,” said Kim Kyaw, Digital Marketing & Social Media Manager. “We’re focused on reaching audiences on their terms while providing entertaining yet informative content. Sharethrough has helped us to drive engagement for our content online.”

“Sharethrough is out to make media better through native advertising, and Sponsored Stories is another milestone for the company as we continue to deliver on this mission,” said Dan Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Sharethrough. “Facebook and Twitter were the first to enable brands to amplify the reach of articles and posts through paid native placements, and they’ve validated strong demand for this capability. With Sharethrough Sponsored Stories, brands now have a content promotion option that reaches viewers across the rest of the open web.”

Sharethrough is the leading provider of native ad products that increase the discovery of any type of brand content. Brands can work with Sharethrough to distribute video content through Sharethrough Sponsored Videos, and can now also promote articles and posts through Sharethrough Sponsored Stories. The company has distributed native ads for 20 of the world’s 25 largest brands and works with 85 percent of media agencies in the United States.

About Sharethrough
Sharethrough is the leading provider of native advertising technology solutions for brands and publishers. Fortune 1000 brands and their agencies work with Sharethrough to guarantee audiences and maximize social engagement for their original branded content, and social web publishers partner with Sharethrough to create native, non-interruptive brand content placements via the Sharethrough native advertising platform. Founded in 2008, the company now has 85 full-time employees and is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York and Chicago. Sharethrough is privately held and please visit www.sharethrough.com to learn more.

About Land Rover
Land Rover, the British maker of Land Rover and Range Rover sport utility vehicles, is renowned for providing its’ clientele with some of the most luxurious and capable vehicles in the world. Every Land Rover product is equally at home both on and off road, and in any setting; be it in the heart of the city, or traversing the countryside. Today’s Land Rover lineup includes the legendary Defender, LR2 (Freelander 2), LR4 (Discovery 4), RangeRover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rover designs, engineers, and manufactures their vehicles in the United Kingdom. LandRover is fully engaged with sustainability initiatives and social concerns with continuous involvement in environmental and community programs. For more information visit the official Land Rover website at http://www.landroverusa.com.

About Jaguar Land Rover
• Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturing business built around two iconic British car brands with a rich heritage and powerful consumer appeal and loyalty. Additionally, Jaguar Land Rover is at the centre of the UK automotive industry’s drive to deliver technical innovation in all areas of vehicle development.
• As the UK’s largest automotive employer, JLR has a world class team of nearly 25,000 people.
• In the 2011/12 fiscal year, JLR achieved record profits of £1.5 billion, an increase of £392m when compared to the previous year.
• Jaguar Land Rover is the largest investor in automotive R&D and engineering in the UK.
• Jaguar Land Rover has two state of the art engineering and design facilities and three advanced manufacturing plants in the UK.
• Headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey in the United States, Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC has offices across the USA and Canada and is represented by more than 330 retail outlets.