How Reddit’s CEO sees search and video ads developing

A rebranded Reddit is coming out with a new ad campaign focused on attracting brands to the conversations. On Thursday, Reddit unveiled the ad push it called “Reddit Recommends,” which will run as billboards in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as on Reddit itself. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and Jen Wong, Reddit’s chief operating officer, talked with Ad Age about the B2B ad campaign, and about the state of the site. Huffman said there are plans to upgrade video and search on Reddit, to improve those features for users and then open new ad potential. In recent weeks, Reddit also has undergone a transformation after redesigning its mascot, Snoo, which is more 3D and bubbly, as part of a broader brand refresh. The company has a revamped message for advertisers, too, with the new campaign leaning into the theme of “recommendations.” The new ad campaign highlights communities, called subreddits, that seem like natural fits for brands, including “WhatCarShouldIBuy” and “Streetwear.” Reddit, founded in 2005, is expected to finally go public next year. Huffman and Wong declined to discuss where the company is in the initial public offering process. Huffman would not discuss the possibility of an IPO next year. Reddit also has been working on its mobile app and new ad formats. Huffman talked about how Reddit is adjusting to changing advertiser demands, such as their emphasis on privacy. Instead of highly personalized ads based on internet tracking, Reddit wants to use its own proprietary data and “high intent” signals, such as what people talk about on Reddit, to target ads. “On the business, side we’re continuing to make progress with advertisers,” Huffman said, adding, “I think [they] are appreciating the differentiation of Reddit. How we’re different than social media, and the way they can find our customers is different than social media.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Trove of recommendations The “Reddit Recommends” marketing message is an extension of work the brand has been doing since June at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, when its beachside location was used to promote consumer tips from Reddit users. Jim Squires, Reddit’s executive VP of business marketing and growth, helped conceive the campaign. “We have this trove of recommendations, and we are very clear that the way we drive performance is not through identity and profiles,” Wong said. “We don’t believe that’s the only way to drive performance. We’re going to do it through contextual advertising and be a leader in that, which obviously harnesses all the conversation in our communities.” More news: A conversation with Reddit’s CMO In one example, Huffman said he frequents skiing subreddits, and that’s the type of place people go for tips on where to ski, what passes to buy and what gear is the best. “If you are a specific company, like you’re a golf cart business, and you just want golfers, for example, you can find your potential customer so specifically and narrowly,” Wong said, “because we have that community on Reddit.” Reddit has been experimenting with ad formats for years. Brands, however, have sometimes had a hard time reaching the communities, especially when a portion of the user base has been averse to overt advertising. Now, Reddit is improving contextual advertising on the platform. There are “conversation placement” ads—when people click inside posts, those ads appear just above the comments section. This year, Reddit launched keyword-based ad targeting, so brands could appear next to the topics they wanted. Last week, Reddit added product ads, which allow marketers to show a carousel of products targeted to the conversation. “One of the non-obvious things about Reddit, I didn’t even fully appreciate this until relatively recently, is just how naturally commercial Reddit is,” Huffman said. “In Reddit, every interest, passion and hobby are represented somewhere.” Wong said that Reddit added “thousands of advertisers” in 2023, without providing an exact figure. “There has been double-digit growth year over year” in the number of advertisers, Wong said. Recent news: How agencies are marketing themselves Reddit is still working on upgrades to its mobile app, which could provide a better video experience, ultimately leading to new types of video ads, Huffman said. Reddit has been criticized in the past for a lackluster in-app video player, but Huffman said they are working on it. “Video presents a little bit more of a challenge because you’ve got the whole screen watching a video, so where do you put the conversation,” Huffman said. “So, that is something we’re working on and when we’ve nailed that then I think we can really talk about video ads.” Reddit also sees an opportunity in search, which is a category a number of digital rivals, including TikTok and Instagram, are chasing. “Search ads is a big opportunity for Reddit,” Huffman said, “but it’s the same story there, making the search product on Reddit as amazing as possible and then we can start talking about putting ads on the search result pages.”

How Reddit’s CEO sees search and video ads developing

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