Reddit introduces native autoplay video ads optimized for the site’s recent redesign

Reddit is launching a new video ad product today, rolling out native video ads that autoplay in-feed and are designed for optimized viewing within the site’s recent redesign. The new native video ad units will be available initially to managed partners, then extended to all advertisers during the next month.

While Reddit has offered video ad products before today, the new video ads are fully native across all platforms, available for video-only campaigns and, for the first time ever, purchased on a cost-per-view (CPV) basis. (Formerly, video ads could only be bought via cost per impression.)

The new native video ads are displayed in the expanded card view format that is part of Reddit’s redesign. According to Reddit, they’re better-looking and have more engagement based on results from the advertisers that tested the ad product before the official launch.

Reddit calls the new video ads a “big step” in its effort to optimize the redesign for users and advertisers by combining the new card view format with video hosting and bidding capabilities (now that advertisers can purchase on a per-view basis).

Reddit first tested the native video ads among a select group of advertisers, including Audi, Nintendo, Netflix, the Olympic Channel and Artemis Hotel. According to the site, one of its test partners in the gaming space experienced a 5x lift in performance compared to Reddit campaign benchmarks.

Reddit reports native video views on the platform have more than doubled since the start of 2018, up 23 percent month over month. The site says that since launching its native video player in August 2017, native videos on Reddit now earn twice as many views as YouTube content shared on the platform and that native video adoption is growing across the site, making up 20 percent of all views in its popular r/oddlysatisfying community and 15 percent of all views in the r/aww community.