Sharethrough

Summary

Sharethrough is an SSP that has the ability to revolutionize programmatic advertising through their human-centric technology and green media products which can help drive attention to brand advertising.

By focusing on optimizing for attention, Sharethrough enables brands to make their ad spend more efficient leading to better outcomes while also being more environmentally friendly. This approach to advertising not only benefits brands but also contributes to reducing carbon emissions.

Sharethrough is currently the only partner to not only add in approved enhancements across Video, Display, Native, and CTV, but also curate inventory based on attention driving metrics and make our campaigns carbon neutral. In 2023, Sharethrough became the first ad exchange to remove MFA sites from all its off-the-shelf deals and custom PMPs, allowing clients to run on the most direct, premium quality inventory possible.

At a Glance

Top Geos Traffic Types Formats

US - 90%

GB - 2%

CA - 2%

DE - 1%

Other - 5%

Mobile Web - 35%

Mobile App - 32%

Web - 24%

CTV - 9%

Display - 40%

Video - 37%

Native - 23%

For the most up-to-date information on avails and specific inventory, go to the Inventory Directory in Basis.

Technical Considerations

Native Ad Specifications

Sharethrough native video and native display ads consist of:

  • Headline (Required): 90 characters max.

  • Description (Required): 140 characters max. Not used for all placements.

  • Content URL (Required): The click URL of the ad.

  • Thumbnail Image (Required): Minimum 320x180 for mobile, 1000x750 for desktop. Supplying both is recommended.

    • A 4:3 aspect ratio for the image is recommended, but other ratios are permissible. Placements vary in image aspect ratio, so thumbnails should not contain text and should be loosely framed to allow for cropping. See Sharethrough's page on Thumbnail Cropping and Best Practices for more information.

  • Brand Name (Required): The name of the brand advertised. This is shown in the ad.

  • Brand Logo (Optional): An icon that appears next to the brand name in the ad. 40x40 pixels max.

Native video ads also include a video (MP4 file) or third-party VAST.

Basis DSP will not track video events, such as quartiles or completes, for native video ads at this time.

IAS Viewability Measurement

Sharethrough Native Ad Generator has support for the inclusion of third-party scripts delivered at impression time. The user should put it in the JavaScript viewability tracker fields, the original snippet of HTML as provided by IAS should be used (the client should confirm that the IAS script uses append mode instead of write mode).

Example: <SCRIPT SRC="https://pixel.adsafeprotected.com/rjss/st/1234/1234/skeleton.js"></SCRIPT>

Basis viewability measurement is now supported.

See the following for more information:

Buying Sharethrough in Basis DSP

Signing Up for a Native Ad Generator Account

If you do not yet have an account, visit the native ad generator homepage. Select Sign up in the top right corner and complete the form to open an account.

Sharethrough Dashboard with Sign Up highlighted

Creating Native Ads

The native ad generator allows you to see example ads as well as manage or share your existing ads. The Publisher dropdown allows you to simulate the display of ads on various publishers.

To create native ads:

  1. Visit the native ad generator and login.

  2. Click Create New Ad.

    Sharethrough Dashboard with Create New Ad highlighted
  3. Choose the ad type you want to create.

    It is not recommended to use the NAG tool for Native Display, as Basis already has built-in functionality for native display ads. It is not recommended to use NAG for Native Video. Because of the need to use the dummy native ads, the DSP will not track any video metrics, and reporting will show all video spend as native display. Clicks will not be tracked by the DSP! Please understand these limitations if you choose to run creatives using Sharethrough's NAG tool.

  4. You are presented with a form to fill out. The selected Publisher is not used for the ad, only for the simulated preview. The Ad Name is displayed in your ad; it is the name that is displayed in the list of ads you've created. Name your ad something that allows you to find it again if you need to. Fill out the rest of the fields as appropriate and scroll down. You can also add third-party impression and click tracker URLs if needed. Save the ad for future use, if desired.
  5. Click Generate Pixel.

  6. Clicking Generate Pixels provides you with a 1x1 pixel URL that can be included in the DSP.

    Sharethrough dashboard with Generate Pixels highlighted and example ad

Trafficking in the DSP

To traffic in Basis:

  1. Go to Main Menu [] > Campaigns.

  2. Select a campaign and media plan.

  3. Select DSP Actions > Creative.

  4. Select Add > Native on the Creative panel.

    Basis Adding Creatives modal with  Add Native ad selected
  5. Enter a name for the ad.

    Be sure to use Sharethrough or STX in the name of the ad to ensure our ad quality reviewers are able to easily identify that this is an ad for Sharethrough Exchange.

  6. Fill out the required fields for the native ad, but note that these are just placeholders. The actual content is not used by Sharethrough.
  7. Click Add image impression tracking URL. In the Image Impression Tracking URL field, paste the 1x1 pixel URL provided by Sharethrough. It is this pixel that Sharethrough uses to map the native ad in Basis to the creative built using their NAG tool.

    The ad preview page will not show the Sharethrough native ad. If you wish to preview these ads, use the native ad generator.

When setting up your DSP line item and editing the tactic, be sure to select Select exchanges and only select Sharethrough.

Failing to select only Sharethrough in your campaign targeting could result in the ad buying impression on native placements on other exchanges. You must ensure that you are targeting Sharethrough exchange only.

Basis' DSP exchange options with Sharethrough selected

Exchange Provided Documentation

Sharethrough offers a number of enhanced creative options that are built using their Native Ad Generator (NAG tool) which can then be run through Basis. See the following for more details: