Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
Reddit has introduced a groundbreaking advertising format called “free-form ads,” designed to seamlessly blend with the platform’s user-generated content. By mirroring the look and style of regular posts, these ads aim to foster natural engagement between advertisers and the Reddit community.
Key Features of Free-Form Ads
- Engagement-Focused Design: Advertisers can now craft ads that closely resemble user posts, encouraging more interactive and engaging experiences.
- Diverse Media Integration: The ads support a mix of images, videos, and text, utilizing templates for easy creation.
- Inspired by Megathreads: Drawing inspiration from Reddit’s popular Megathreads, these ads serve as a hub for information and discussion on trending topics.
Why Free-Form Ads Matter
- Enhanced Engagement: Brands can deliver comprehensive information in an engaging way, potentially boosting conversion rates.
- Potential User Backlash: There’s a risk that users seeking authentic content might react negatively to ads disguised as user posts.
How Free-Form Ads Work
- Versatile Media Support: Advertisers can use images, videos, and text to share in-depth information.
- Template-Based Creation: Ready-made templates facilitate the easy assembly of ads.
- Sponsored Label Visibility: Ads are marked with a “Promoted” label for transparency.
- Global Availability and Accessibility
- Reddit Ads Manager Integration: The new ad format is accessible globally to all advertisers via the Reddit Ads Manager.
Early Success Stories
- Brands like Just Eat Takeaway, Kraft Heinz, and Leica: Reported significant upper funnel results through early adoption of free-form ads.
- Philadelphia Cream Cheese Case Study: Demonstrated the ad format’s ability to engage communities, yielding over a thousand comments, a 91% upvote rate, and a 42% higher click-through rate compared to previous benchmarks on Reddit.
Reddit’s new free-form ads represent a strategic effort to enhance advertising engagement by mimicking the platform’s user content style. While offering the potential for increased brand interaction and community engagement, the success of this approach will depend on the balance between advertisement and user experience integrity.
