Reddit unveils new Conversation Ads

Reddit announced a major revision to its conversation page ads, including a new placement within discussion threads.

Trying to position itself as a leader in contextual advertising, Reddit is emphasizing the power of authentic conversations in an AI-dominated digital landscape.

Why it matters. Reddit said that 2 in 3 users would purchase a product after seeing an ad on the platform, indicating it is a key platform during the consumer buying journey for product/brand decisions.

Why we care. This news represents a significant development in paid social media advertising, offering new opportunities for advertisers to reach engaged audiences in a highly contextual environment.

Details.

• The new “Conversation Ads” feature larger, more premium media and will appear between individual comments.
• 47% of Reddit screenviews happen on conversation pages, making it a prime advertising real estate.
• New brand safety controls, including machine learning tooling, are coming later this year.

By the numbers.

• Combining Feed and Conversation Ads drives Action Intent more than twice as strongly as Feed only (+2.44% to +5.46%), Reddit said.
• Campaigns using both placements saw 83% higher brand awareness compared to Feed only.

Case study. Lenovo’s use of Conversation Ads resulted in:

• 40% lower cost per acquisition (CPA) than the campaign average in 2023.
• 30% year-over-year improvement in CPA.
• Early achievement of 2024 campaign goal.

Bottom line. Reddit is leveraging its unique position as a conversation-driven platform to offer advertisers highly contextual and engaging ad placements.