Why Reddit is growing ad inventory in the comments section

Reddit is about to put more ads in the comments section, with plans to show promotions within the conversations, not just at the top of them. The move represents a possible vast new opening of inventory for ads. “The hypothesis and the rationale for introducing it is, one the conversation pages are our fastest growing ads surface on the platform,” said Jim Squires, Reddit’s executive VP of business marketing and growth. “Nearly half of screen views happen within the conversation pages compared to feed and other spots, so they’re really important areas for marketers to be in.” Reddit announced the expansion of ads in the comments section during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Cannes Lions coverage See all of the Grand Prix winners here Top 5 Grand Prix campaigns For the past three years, Reddit has erected a two-story installation on the beach at the event, where it hosts advertisers and agencies. Reddit positions the site as a hive of potential commerce recommendations and where people seek product advice. There are more than 100,000 subreddits devoted to general interest areas and niche subjects, with people having conversations around these topics. Reddit has 82.7 million daily active users, according to its filings from when it went public earlier this year. Ads in comments sections can be a tricky canvas for marketers on other platforms, Squires said. But on Reddit, the comments are where most of the action occurs. So far, Reddit’s “conversation ads” have appeared only at the top of comment sections. Reddit has been experimenting with several new ad formats and placements since going public, as it looks to recruit more advertisers and generate effective marketing results for them. “The overall redesign [with the ads] is intended to increase performance, make it more relevant, make it more imagery focused,” Squires said. “So it’s definitely aesthetically more compelling. And then allow advertisers to take that, take the content that they want to bring to people on Reddit, and run them across conversations, as well as inside of the feed as well.” Platforms have been getting more aggressive with ads in recent months. For instance, Meta introduced a non-skippable ad format to Instagram. Also, YouTube started showing more unskippable ads on its connected TV app. At YouTube’s Brandcast in May, it announced that AI would help target the ads so that viewers would find them more relevant. “Advertisers do want to maximize reach, they want to maximize achieving their objectives,” Squires said. “But I think, you know, the non-skippable ads, that's a step beyond, and what we're really focused on here is creating that native, compelling, interesting experience.” “It’s not just sticking ads into these spaces, it’s thinking about, what is the mindset people have in these different spaces and what's going to bring them the most value,” Squires said. As for how often ads will appear in comments—how many ads per comment—Squires said there is no hard rule for that, yet. Reddit is still experimenting with the mix and just started last week. “We’re definitely thinking closely, or thinking deeply, about that consumer experience,” Squires said. See Ad Age’s Tech Power List honoring marketing leaders ~ ~ ~ CORRECTION: Reddit’s latest public filing shows it has 82.7 million daily users. An earlier version of this misstated the number.

Why Reddit is growing ad inventory in the comments section

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