Former Google employee, Jyoti Vaidee, has been appointed as Reddit’s first Vice President of Ads Product. With over 11 years of experience leading ads products and monetization at Google, Vaidee is well-equipped to oversee Reddit’s monetization engine and drive the platform’s ads business globally.
This hiring decision demonstrates Reddit’s commitment to improving the platform and enhancing functionality, particularly in the realm of AI ad creation. Reddit has been eyeing the search market after achieving 1 billion monthly searches, partly due to its content licensing agreement with Google. Additionally, the platform has introduced Dynamic Product Ads to connect users with products they are searching for or may be interested in.
However, some Reddit advertisers believe that there is room for improvement. Kyle Golembiewski, Founder at 4Chord Marketing, expressed that Reddit lacks AI creative optimization, which he sees as the future of advertising. He also mentioned that Reddit has lower CPC and conversion rates compared to other platforms, although the audience is highly engaged in organic conversations.
Gil Gildner, Co-Founder at Discosloth, praised Reddit Ads for its ability to target specific subreddits but criticized the platform for its lack of fine-tuning options and insight. He also mentioned that many advertisers are cautious about their placements on Reddit due to the platform’s low etiquette.
In her new role, Vaidee will be responsible for driving the product strategy, execution, and management of Reddit’s Ads Product organization. She will report to Roelof van Zwol, the VP of Ads Product and Engineering.
Overall, Vaidee’s hiring signifies Reddit’s dedication to expanding its ads business and improving the platform’s advertising capabilities. With her extensive experience in ads products and monetization, Vaidee is poised to lead Reddit’s efforts in scaling its ads business globally.