UPDATE: Pandora Unveils 'Promoted Stations'

Pandora

, the leading Internet radio service, has announced the beta launch of a new advertising solution – Promoted Stations. Promoted Stations are native ad units designed to help advertisers drive Pandora listeners to custom content. Created by Pandora for ten national advertisers, they seamlessly integrate into a listener's station list under “Stations You Might Like.” This announcement marks the first time that Pandora has natively integrated an ad product within a listener's station list. Currently, Promoted Stations are being served to roughly 10 percent of Pandora's 76 million monthly users. Listeners that are part of the beta launch will have these stations auto-populate, one station at a time, in the “Stations You Might Like” sections of their playlists. This allows listeners browsing for their next listening experience to consider a brand's content alongside existing and other recommended stations. “We are relentlessly focused on advertising solutions that enhance both the listener and advertiser experiences,” said Lizzie Widhelm, Vice President of Digital Advertising at Pandora. “Promoted Stations make it easier for listeners to explore the unique content we create with brands and give advertisers the opportunity to extend the reach of their content, as well as the time spent with their brand.” Pandora created the Promoted Stations feature after seeing increasing demand for custom content from advertisers. Pandora consults with advertisers to produce content in a variety of ways based on the listening experience brands want to create for their respective audiences. This can entail custom content from an artist or a mix of songs powered by Pandora's Music Genome Project. Advertisers in the beta launch include: Kleenex® Brand, SKECHERS USA Inc., StubHub, Taco Bell®,, and Toyota Motor Sales (TMS). Pandora will continue to grow the number of brands participating in the beta rollout and to test the positioning of promoted stations within the station list. Listener exposure to Promoted Stations will grow throughout the year as Pandora fine-tunes the listener experience. All Promoted Stations will feature the personalized listening and advertising experience that users have when they visit every station on Pandora.