The platform will plow more money into its ad offerings as it cements itself as a “trove of human intelligence.”
How do you expand an advertising business that’s already grown almost 75% in the last year and doesn’t really look to be slowing down anytime soon? Well, just r/AskReddit.
First launched 21 years ago almost to the day, Reddit today announced a new suite of products built around its “community intelligence,” as the social media platform looks to sure up its ads offering in the age of AI, explaining its unique position as a “trove of human intelligence” in an Axios exclusive.
Am I the ads sold? #
As part of that same interview with Axios, Reddit COO Jen Wong explained that, although people are undoubtedly turning to AI more, “they still are seeking out information from humans as a companion to that” — a fact that the company is looking to turn into opportunities for advertisers to make even more of going forward.
In the new box of tools for advertisers, launched today at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, is the platform’s first multi-advertiser format “Shopping List Ads,” where different companies can showcase their products around related conversations happening on the site. Reddit is also introducing a new ad generator tailored to specific audiences and forums, as well as letting brands incorporate positive reviews from Redditors into the ads themselves.
All of this, it’s important to note, comes at a time when the Reddit ad revenues have already ballooned to bring the company over $2 billion in their last fiscal year.
Although it’s been on a bumpy ride since its IPO a little over two years ago, as investors work out its place in a world of AI aggregation and content licenses, the company’s advertising revenue has been on a tear in that time.
Indeed, as companies rush to get into popular subreddits like AskReddit and mildlyinfuriating, which clock 18 million and 12 million visitors a week, respectively, the company’s advertising revenues have soared almost 300% in the last three years, from $160 million in Q1 2023 to $624.7 million in the last quarter.