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.