Do Redditors hate advertising?
Reddit executives have been fielding a version of this question since 2009, when the company launched the first iteration of its self-serve ad platform.
Redditors are not shy with their opinions – that’s the whole point of Reddit – and they’re also not necessarily known for their love of advertising and marketing.
As advertising becomes a higher priority for the recently public Reddit, the people in charge of monetizing it, including newly hired VP of Ad Product Management Jyoti Vaidee, understand they need to be exceedingly mindful of the user experience.
But it’s a misconception that Redditors categorically dislike advertising, says Vaidee on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks. To prove it, she points to internal Reddit user research, which found that 60% of Redditors want brands to participate in communities, so long as their interactions are relevant and respectful.
“We have very authentic conversations happening here … [and] as we evolve our ad strategy, we want to maintain that DNA of Reddit,” says Vaidee, who joined Reddit in May after two decades in product and engineering roles at Google, YouTube and Microsoft.
To strike the right balance between monetization and preserving the experience, Reddit is making big investments in interest-based targeting and more sophisticated contextual tools.
“Improving the contextual relevance of the ad is not only better for the user; it’s also better for the advertiser,” Vaidee says. “It’s not just about driving monetization in the short term. We’re building for a healthy marketplace that sustains growth in the long term.”
Also in this episode: Playing catch-up with more mature advertising businesses, managing the brand safety challenges of user-generated content, inside Reddit’s AI partnership with Google and Reddit’s video monetization opportunity – including via licensing deals with sports leagues. Plus: Is Reddit getting ready to launch a search ads business?
For more articles featuring Jyoti Vaidee, click here.
