At Shoptalk 2025 in Las Vegas, Reddit’s CMO Roxy Young took the stage, and then took us back.
Back to the early days when Reddit was a messy, glorious pile of message boards and in-jokes. Back before “community marketing” was a buzzword. Back before brands knew they had to knock before entering.
“This place doesn’t belong to us,” Young told The Drum. “It belongs to the community.”
That’s not just brand-safe spin.
That’s the foundation of Reddit’s business model, and it’s why the platform just might be the secret weapon marketers have been overlooking.
From Internet Oddball to Retail Intel Engine
Reddit’s not just for memes and mayhem anymore.
With 100,000+ communities and users who are “seeking information” (not just scrolling for dopamine), Reddit is quickly becoming a goldmine for real consumer insight.
“88% of people tell us that those conversations they read on Reddit led them to make their decisions,” said Young. “Every second, 100 people are adding Reddit to their search query.”
In other words: Reddit isn’t just part of the internet. It’s where the internet goes to think out loud before buying.
Old Roots, New Tools
When Young joined Reddit eight years ago, there were “no easy tools and solutions for marketers.”
Today, Reddit Pro is flipping the script. It’s a free, native social listening tool that tracks what people are saying about your brand, or your competitor’s, in real time.
Marketers can use it to shape product development, join conversations as experts, or (wild idea) just listen.
“You can’t just start talking about yourself and why you’re so great,” Young said. “You have to contribute in a meaningful way.”
Enter Like It’s a Dinner Party, Not a Sales Pitch
Reddit isn’t Times Square. It’s someone’s living room. And brands are learning that if you barge in shouting, you’re getting kicked out.
“Every community has its own tone and its own rules,” Young warned. “This is hard for brands… they’ve been able to shout their message for so long. But on Reddit? You have to listen.”
It’s an evolution decades in the making. Remember the banner-ad era? The Facebook “like” gold rush? The LinkedIn humblebrag Olympics? Reddit skipped the parade and built a neighborhood instead.
Now marketers are finally figuring out the map.
When the Community Claps Back and Helps
Reddit’s best marketing case studies aren’t polished. They’re human.
No Reception Club, a startup making travel gear for parents, jumped into r/Daddit and asked, “What do you actually need when traveling with kids?” The community gave them a roadmap.
SharkNinja didn’t just drop an ad. It brought its scientist to Reddit for an AMA, letting people grill them about vacuums. It leaned in. And users loved it.
AI’s Hungry and Reddit’s Feeding It
With Google and OpenAI both cutting deals to use Reddit’s public data, the platform isn’t bracing for an AI tidal wave. It’s riding it.
“You can’t have artificial intelligence without actual intelligence,” Young said.
And when it comes to surfacing Reddit’s chaotic brilliance? “We’re specialists in Reddit data,” she added. “We know how it’s organized. We know how it’s constructed.”
In a world shifting from “10 blue links” to AI-generated answers, Reddit is positioning itself not as a casualty but as the source.
The Next Chapter: Global and Local
Reddit’s looking beyond English-speaking users. Popular subreddits are now machine-translated. Regional teams are forming. And yes, international Swifties are finally getting their own spaces.
“If you live in Germany, why shouldn’t you be able to be part of a global community of people who love Taylor Swift?” Young asked.
So, Is Reddit Still a Destination?
Traffic from Google might be dropping. But Reddit isn’t trying to win a clicks race. It’s betting on trust, intent, and structure.
“Communities are the secret sauce,” Young said. “They provide context… they’re actively moderated.”
That context, and that commitment to conversation, is what could keep Reddit relevant in an AI-drenched, short-form-saturated digital world.
As it turns 20, Reddit isn’t trying to reinvent itself.
It’s doubling down on what made it great in the first place: real people, real talk, and a serious allergy to BS.
