Reddit's Roxy Young on Navigating the IPO Journey and Embracing Community-Driven Advertising
In a recent episode of "The Speed of Culture" podcast, host Matt Britton sat down with Roxy Young, Chief Marketing and Consumer Experience Officer at Reddit, to discuss the company's successful IPO, the power of community-driven marketing, and the future of advertising in the age of AI.
Reddit's IPO Journey: Preparing to Operate Like a Public Company Young shared insights about Reddit's journey to going public, which began with a confidential filing a few years ago. However, due to market uncertainty and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the company delayed its IPO. During this time, Reddit focused on preparing to operate with the discipline and rigor of a public company.
Interestingly, Young noted that the delayed IPO was not a major distraction for Reddit employees, who are deeply motivated by the company's mission of creating community belonging and empowerment for everyone in the world. "Reddit is such a mission-driven company," Young explained. "The IPO was a moment in time, but there's so much more that we're excited to do and bring out to the world."
Balancing Community and Commercialization as a Public Company One key challenge and opportunity that Young acknowledged for Reddit as a public company is balancing its mission and community focus with the need to drive financial results and increase average revenue per user, which currently lags other major social platforms.
To address this, Reddit actively involved its user community in the IPO process, fielding questions from users, being transparent about key decisions, and even running a directed share program that allowed regular users to buy stock. "Reddit is really well suited for becoming a public company. It is of the people, by the people, for the people," said Young.
The Power of Community-Driven Advertising on Reddit Reddit presents a massive opportunity for advertisers, with hundreds of millions of highly engaged users across over 100,000 active communities. However, many advertisers have historically been hesitant to invest in the platform.
Young acknowledged this challenge but highlighted the unique benefits for brands that engage authentically on Reddit. "Advertisers often think of Reddit as social media, but it's really more about communities that are gathering around a shared interest area. And so you need to really understand the community and add value before you extract value."
To help brands succeed on the platform, Reddit has invested in building out its advertising solutions, focusing more on contextual targeting and native ad formats that allow brands to authentically participate in relevant communities.
"When an advertiser is thinking about coming on to Reddit, they have to understand that they could take their existing creative, run it on Reddit, have an incredibly efficient and performant buy, or they could do things that are more native to Reddit," explained Young. "If advertisers are willing to break the mold a little bit and think about how they can use some of our more Reddit-native products, they're going to have a fantastic experience that's not only performant but also wins over enthusiasts and increases brand affinity."
Ensuring Brand Safety on Reddit Brand safety is a growing concern for advertisers, especially with the upcoming election and the rise of AI and deepfakes. Young emphasized that Reddit is one of the safest places for brands to advertise, thanks to its multi-layered approach to content moderation and brand safety tools.
This approach includes a site-wide content policy, community-specific rules enforced by moderators, user voting to surface or hide content, and customizable brand safety controls for advertisers. "This suite and this layered approach creates an incredibly safe environment for brands that is very controllable," said Young.
The Future of AI in Advertising and the Reddit Experience As AI continues to transform industries, Young sees tremendous opportunities for Reddit to leverage the technology to improve moderation, user experience, and advertising on the platform.
"There's a tremendous opportunity for us as a business to leverage AI, whether it's moderation, users, advertisers - so much opportunity that I think is just going to reduce the barrier to entry and make things simpler and more efficient," said Young.
Examples include using AI to improve moderation tools, provide post guidance to users, generate ad copy suggestions for advertisers, and optimize ad targeting and performance. "All of those things are powered by AI. So whether it's moderation, users, advertisers, so much opportunity that I think is just going to reduce the barrier to entry and make things simpler and more efficient," Young explained.
Leadership Lessons from a Trailblazing CMO As a woman leader in tech, Young shared valuable insights for aspiring marketers and leaders. She emphasized the importance of thinking of one's career as a web rather than a ladder, being open to unexpected opportunities that may not seem linear but ultimately contribute to a rich skill set.
Young also highlighted the value of grit, tenacity, and alignment with a company's mission when building high-performing teams. As a leader, she focuses on developing the next generation of talent and helping them achieve their goals.
Her personal mantras include "done less, better, faster" and "get comfortable with being uncomfortable," emphasizing the importance of focusing on impactful work and embracing growth opportunities that push one out of their comfort zone.
As Reddit continues its growth journey as a public company, Young's insights on community-driven marketing, brand safety, and the future of AI in advertising offer valuable lessons for brands and marketers navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape. By embracing authenticity, innovation, and a mission-driven approach, companies can build lasting connections with passionate communities and thrive in the age of AI-powered advertising.
