Reddit’s new ‘Trending Takeover’ ad unit lets brands appear on top of Popular feed, Search tab

Advertisers on Reddit can now buy Trending Takeover ad units, the platform’s first ad type that appears in the trending section of Reddit’s Popular tab and Search dropdown.

Here’s how it looks in the Popular feed on mobile:

And here’s how it looks in the Search dropdown:

Driving to Reddit landing pages. When a user clicks on the ad, they are taken to a landing page that features Reddit conversations, posts, and communities based on keywords the advertiser selects. Here’s what that landing page looks like on both mobile and desktop:

Direct buys only. For now, Reddit said the Trending Takeover ad unit is only available on a reservation basis. be bought on a reservation basis. can be sold only on a reservation basis. Advertisers interested in buying ad space for this format should contact Reddit Advertising.

Why we care. Advertisers can use the Trending Takeover format as a way to drive high visibility and build top-of-funnel awareness right to the top-trending topics and issues.

“With millions of searches taking place every day and over one-third of users coming to Reddit’s Popular feed daily, brands can now be part of where cultural trends are born online — Reddit,” said Shariq Rizvi, Vice President of Ads Product and Engineering at Reddit. “For Reddit, a large focus for 2020 is about maximizing new and premium opportunities for brands to authentically engage with Reddit users.”

Reddit’s ad offering has been slow to match up to the more robust capabilities of other social platforms, but the new Trending Takeover unit is evidence that Reddit is placing a higher priority on connecting brands with audiences.

The site launched a number of new ad options in the last year, including app install ads with third-party attribution capabilities, cost-per-click ads, and rolled out native promoted posts the year prior. For brands looking to connect with niche, interested audiences, it might be worth revisiting Reddit as it continues building products to attract advertisers.