Reddit has appointed Jyoti Vaidee as its first VP of Ads Product, a role that will oversee the platform's monetization engine. Vaidee, who previously worked at Google for over 11 years leading ads products and monetization, will be responsible for driving the product strategy, execution, and management of the Ads Product organization at Reddit.
This new role highlights Reddit's focus on scaling its ads business globally, following its March IPO. Vaidee's hiring is seen as a commitment by Reddit to improve the platform and add much-needed functionality, particularly in the area of AI ad creation.
Reddit has been considering entering the search market after achieving 1 billion monthly searches, partly due to its content licensing agreement with Google. The platform has also introduced Dynamic Product Ads that connect users with products they are interested in.
However, some Reddit advertisers have expressed the need for improvements on the platform. Kyle Golembiewski, Founder at 4Chord Marketing, pointed out the lack of AI creative optimization and the lower conversion rates on Reddit compared to Meta or Google. Gil Gildner, Co-Founder at Discosloth, also noted that the Reddit Ads platform is quite crude and lacks fine-tuning or insight.
Vaidee replaces Shariq Rizvi, who built Reddit’s ads platform from scratch over the past five years as EVP of Ads Monetization. She will report to Roelof van Zwol, the VP of Ads Product and Engineering.
