The Rise of Reddit: The missing piece in APAC’s marketing strategy

Thought Leadership

Once considered a niche corner of the internet, Reddit has quietly grown into one of the most influential digital platforms and one of APAC marketers’ biggest blind spots. In this piece, Suzie Shaw, APAC CEO, explores how, as people increasingly turn away from traditional advertising and into more private, interest-led communities, Reddit has become the home of genuine advice, reviews and peer-to-peer truth-telling on virtually every topic imaginable.

With more than half a billion users globally, Reddit’s presence in APAC is accelerating fast. As noted in We Are Social and Meltwater’s Global Digital Report, one in three Australians and Filipinos aged 16+ visited Reddit in the past month, with Singapore close behind at one in four. It’s no surprise: in cultures where peer recommendations matter, Reddit’s community-first structure – built on anonymity, honesty and niche subcultures – is a natural fit.

For marketers, this is where the platform becomes a missed opportunity. Reddit is a high-intent environment. People arrive not to scroll passively, but to research, compare and decide. Studies show adding Reddit to a retail media mix can lift ROAS by 11–14%. Beyond performance, roughly 40% of Reddit’s 22 billion posts reference products or companies, making it an unrivalled insights engine. Recent analyses even suggest Reddit is one of the most frequently cited sources in AI models like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT, meaning Reddit communities increasingly shape what people read as “the answer.”

And yet, many brands avoid it. The platform’s anonymity, variable moderation and history of rejecting overt marketing create understandable hesitation. But those same qualities are what make Reddit powerful: authenticity is the algorithm. Brands that win here show up humbly, participate meaningfully, and add value. Adobe builds loyalty by encouraging designers to share their work. The NBA’s AMAs and deep-dive guides become evergreen cultural touchpoints. The Washington Post sends reporters directly into threads to answer candidly.

For APAC marketers, Reddit offers something rare: a single space where culture, commerce and AI converge, and where consumers are actively seeking trusted answers. Those who ignore it risk missing a major shift in how decisions are made online. However, it’s a space that must be navigated carefully – with a native, community-first approach that respects the culture and earns trust.