It wasn’t flashy. No celebrity endorsements, no viral stunts—just surgical precision and smart data. When Rise Vision partnered with InterTeam to rescue their underperforming Reddit ad campaigns, the results were nothing short of a B2B marketing masterclass.
In just 2 months, they multiplied their ROAS sixfold, slashed their cost per lead by 77%, and turned Reddit—a platform often overlooked by traditional advertisers—into a high-performing acquisition channel.
What makes a Reddit campaign successful? Strategic retargeting, hyper-relevant community targeting, and relentless optimization. This isn’t just a success story; it’s a roadmap for how brands like Adidas, New Balance, and others are leveraging Reddit’s uniquely engaged user base to unlock outsized returns.
These campaigns prove that with the right audience-first approach, Reddit ads aren’t just viable—they’re essential.
- Building Trust Through Transparent Conversations: Ad Council’s COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign
- Retargeting Like a Redditor: Rise Vision’s B2B SaaS Campaign
- Turning Ads Into Communities: Caliber Fitness’ Viral Subreddit Growth
- Entertaining Communities to Drive Intent: Adidas’ X Speedportal Multi-Ad Campaign
- Running Into the Right Subreddits: New Balance’s Fresh Foam UK Launch
- Humanizing Sports Through Dialogue: Adidas’ “You Got This” AMA Series
- Where Reddit Campaigns Break the Mold
- Frequently Asked Questions
Building Trust Through Transparent Conversations: Ad Council’s COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign
When you’re addressing skepticism in an online community, brute-force advertising rarely works. Reddit is particularly hostile to anything that feels like a hard sell. The winning play here was to use conversational formats—AMAs and megathreads—to educate rather than push. By bringing credible experts directly into communities and allowing authentic Q&A, the campaign built trust in a way no display banner could.
Instead of relying solely on broad paid impressions, this approach leaned on Reddit-native trust signals: upvotes, comments, and sustained threads. The design wasn’t about optimizing CTR; it was about creating a participatory dialogue where Redditors could see their questions answered in real time by respected medical professionals.
Context & Case Study
The Ad Council partnered with Llama Lead Gen to run one of the largest Reddit campaigns during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The initiative unfolded in three phases: awareness ads aimed at rural and parental demographics, broadening outreach through AMAs, and then refining targeting again toward conservatives, parents, and Hispanic audiences.
- Phase 1 delivered baseline reach and testing ($908 spend yielded 246K impressions).
- Phase 2 introduced AMAs with high-profile doctors, drawing 558 upvotes, 240 comments, and multiple awards—organic proof that the conversation resonated.
- Phase 3 consolidated learnings into a megathread FAQ, which received over 2,100 comments and became a living resource.
Results & Analysis
With over 85M impressions, 71K site visitors, and CPMs as low as $4.56 (outperforming other channels), this campaign proved that credibility and conversation beat interruption. The AMAs didn’t just spread information; they legitimized it by placing experts inside the dialogue rather than above it.
Key Takeaway
On Reddit, don’t fight the culture—design campaigns that look like conversations, not commercials. If you’re tackling sensitive or complex topics, AMAs and megathreads let your brand borrow credibility from experts while building lasting community trust.
Retargeting Like a Redditor: Rise Vision’s B2B SaaS Campaign
Reddit’s ecosystem doesn’t lend itself well to cold top-of-funnel advertising, especially in B2B. What works is laser-focused retargeting—using Reddit’s data to re-engage people who’ve already signaled interest. The trick lies in building layered, exclusion-heavy audience structures that prevent wasted spend and keep ads relevant.
The winning formula here was short-window retargeting (7–30 days) combined with audience exclusions for existing customers and employees. That way, ads reached only the most engaged, qualified prospects. Paired with community-level targeting, this approach cut out noise and optimized for efficiency.
Context & Case Study
Rise Vision, a SaaS digital signage provider, was burning budget on Reddit with little ROI. InterTeam stepped in and began with a deep audit. They discovered poor funnel segmentation—top and mid-funnel ads bled spend, while retargeting was quietly effective.
The fix:
- Segmented audiences by recency (7/15/30/60/90 days).
- Excluded employees, customers, and anyone who had already converted.
- Focused spend only on high-relevance subreddits tied to digital signage and IT professionals.
- Scheduled ads for working hours only and prioritized desktop placements for better lead quality.
- Pivoted creatives toward carousel testimonial ads, A/B testing copy drawn from Google Ads’ proven performers.
Results & Analysis
Within four months, Rise Vision achieved:
- 6× ROAS
- 63% lower cost per signup (from $185 to $68)
- 77% lower cost per lead
The campaign’s efficiency came not from expanding reach but from pruning ruthlessly—targeting only where intent was highest.
Key Takeaway
On Reddit, especially for B2B, precision retargeting outperforms spray-and-pray funnels. Invest in exclusions, narrow time windows, and community relevance to ensure every impression works harder.
Turning Ads Into Communities: Caliber Fitness’ Viral Subreddit Growth
Most brands treat Reddit ads as billboards. Caliber flipped that logic—using an ad as a springboard to build a self-sustaining subreddit community. Instead of pushing app downloads directly, they framed the ad as a transparent post, invited dialogue, and funneled interested readers into a branded subreddit.
This approach worked because it aligned with Redditors’ natural behavior: engaging with communities. Rather than asking for a conversion leap (“download the app”), Caliber asked for a smaller, culturally relevant step (“join the conversation”), reducing friction and increasing authenticity.
Context & Case Study
Caliber Fitness launched a plain-text promoted post that blended seamlessly into Reddit’s feed. The founder wrote candidly—no jargon, no corporate tone—inviting feedback and opening comments. While most brands disable ad comments, Caliber leaned into transparency.
The ad exploded:
- 15K+ upvotes
- 5K+ comments
- Thousands of users joined the brand’s subreddit, which now has 16K members, ranking in the top 5% of Reddit communities.
Over time, this community became a focus group, a testimonial hub, and an ongoing retention engine. New users could browse authentic discussions before signing up, while loyal members evolved into advocates.
Results & Analysis
By reframing the ad as a community builder, Caliber created compounding value: one ad turned into a permanent owned channel. While short-term app downloads still came through, the long-term payoff was a thriving subreddit that continues to generate engagement organically.
Key Takeaway
Don’t just advertise on Reddit—use ads to seed communities that outlive the campaign. If your brand can host authentic conversations, a subreddit can become your most durable asset.
Entertaining Communities to Drive Intent: Adidas’ X Speedportal Multi-Ad Campaign
On Reddit, the most effective campaigns understand that users aren’t there to consume polished commercials—they’re there to engage in discussions and memes that feel native to the platform.
Adidas recognized this and built a multi-format campaign for the launch of its X Speedportal soccer cleat, tapping into Reddit’s unique conversation-driven environment. The cornerstone of this approach was meeting users where they already were—inside communities, inside conversations, and inside comment threads.
Instead of deploying a single format, Adidas ran a full-funnel mix: category takeovers, in-feed videos, carousels, conversation placements, and even a Reddit-native megathread activated via free-form ads. By weaving Rick and Morty–themed creative into these placements, Adidas didn’t just advertise; it entertained.
The cartoon crossover was unexpected, relevant, and instantly recognizable to the meme-savvy Reddit audience, helping break down resistance to overt marketing.
Context & Case Study
The campaign rolled out across the U.S., with a clear focus on creating both awareness and affinity for the new cleat. Adidas placed ads inside subreddits where soccer fans and younger Redditors spend their time, then layered in creative formats that allowed for discovery and dialogue, not just passive impressions. The megathread created a central hub for users to ask, react, and explore product messaging without feeling like they were trapped inside an ad funnel.
Results & Analysis
The payoff was substantial. Independent measurement by Kantar showed:
- +10-point lift in purchase intent when using conversation placements.
- +14-point lift in brand favorability.
- +18-point primacy lift as the top soccer brand versus competitors.
These numbers highlight how impactful it is to adapt creative for Reddit’s ecosystem. Adidas didn’t try to copy-paste a social campaign—it built for the community-first, humor-driven culture of Reddit.
Key Takeaway
On Reddit, formats matter as much as the message. By blending diverse ad types with culturally resonant creative, brands can achieve measurable lifts in awareness, intent, and brand affinity—even in crowded categories.
Running Into the Right Subreddits: New Balance’s Fresh Foam UK Launch
For a brand like New Balance, credibility comes from being embraced by real runners, not just being seen on billboards. Their Fresh Foam sneaker launch leaned into Reddit’s running and fitness communities, leveraging placements that encouraged authentic interaction rather than mass-market repetition.
The strategic bet: meet consumers where they talk about their passion, and the brand message will feel native, not forced.
The campaign mixed conversation placements with category takeovers and in-feed video carousels, ensuring it hit both scale and intimacy. The approach mirrored the way runners themselves move through Reddit: browsing niche subs for gear tips, swapping training advice, and sharing experiences. By positioning the campaign inside those spaces, New Balance reinforced its brand as part of the running conversation rather than an outside voice.
Context & Case Study
Partnering with Mediahub, New Balance rolled out this campaign in the UK with the goal of promoting an inclusive, uplifting running culture. The tone of the campaign—“the only way to run is your way”—aligned perfectly with Reddit’s user-driven ethos. Creative placements delivered both brand awareness (through takeovers) and community credibility (through conversation placements).
Results & Analysis
Measured by Reddit Brand Lift, the campaign significantly outperformed expectations:
- 52% lift in ad awareness.
- 91% lift in ad awareness specifically for Reddit takeovers.
- 22% lift in action intent from conversation placements.
These results illustrate the value of pairing scale-based formats with highly engaged placements. The ability to reach broad audiences while embedding inside active discussions gave New Balance both the visibility and the credibility it needed to stand out in a competitive category.
Key Takeaway
Reddit campaigns thrive when brands enter the exact communities where their audience’s passions live. By aligning media formats with cultural context, New Balance proved that engagement beats exposure—and community trust drives intent.
Humanizing Sports Through Dialogue: Adidas’ “You Got This” AMA Series
While Adidas is a global powerhouse, the “You Got This” AMA series wasn’t about product—it was about relatability and authenticity. With Gen Z interest in competitive sports declining due to pressure and burnout, Adidas took a bold approach: hand the mic to young athletes and let them speak directly to Redditors about the highs, lows, and personal struggles behind their careers.
The strategy hinged on AMAs, Reddit’s most intimate and transparent format. By spotlighting Adidas-sponsored athletes—NFL prospects, WNBA stars, and women’s soccer talents—the campaign leveraged real voices rather than marketing copy. This created a narrative that was not about performance gear but about the mental and emotional realities of sport.
Context & Case Study
In collaboration with Reddit, Adidas hosted a series of athlete AMAs featuring Rome Odunze (NFL), Catarina Macario (soccer), David Njoku (NFL), and Aliyah Boston (WNBA). Each AMA opened space for candid questions and honest answers. Athletes shared their vulnerabilities, coping strategies, and personal growth stories, reinforcing the campaign’s core message: sports should be joyful, not overwhelming.
Results & Analysis
The AMAs became some of the highest-performing sports-related AMAs on Reddit in 2024, surpassing benchmarks for engagement. More importantly, the series created measurable lifts in brand favorability and association. For the audience, the initiative helped Gen Z athletes and fans feel seen and understood, reconnecting them with the joy of sports and reframing Adidas not just as a gear company, but as a supporter of athlete well-being.
This cultural impact didn’t go unnoticed. The campaign was recognized as the “Winner in Other Platform Partnership” at the 17th Annual Shorty Awards, highlighting how effectively Adidas leveraged Reddit to drive authentic dialogue and cultural relevance.
Key Takeaway
On Reddit, authentic voices beat polished campaigns. By letting athletes speak openly in AMAs, Adidas turned a brand campaign into a cultural conversation—reminding marketers that relatability is the most powerful form of influence.
Where Reddit Campaigns Break the Mold
Reddit is unlike any other platform. It’s not built for glossy brand takeovers or perfectly polished content; it thrives on dialogue, transparency, and community identity. The six campaigns we’ve explored prove that when brands embrace this ethos, they don’t just run ads—they create cultural moments that live beyond the campaign flight.
From public health initiatives to sneaker launches, Reddit has shown itself to be a uniquely powerful arena for marketers who are willing to think differently. The most successful campaigns weren’t about pushing products—they were about inviting participation, earning trust, and aligning with subcultures in ways that felt authentic.
This is why results ranged from massive brand lift to long-term community growth: Reddit rewards the brands that understand its DNA.
Taken together, these case studies show that the brands that win on Reddit share one thing in common: they design for conversation, not interruption. And in today’s marketing landscape, where consumer skepticism is sky-high, that might just be the smartest playbook around.
What made each campaign stand out:
- Ad Council (COVID-19 Vaccine): Transparent expert-led AMAs and megathreads turned complex health messaging into trusted dialogue.
- Rise Vision: Ruthless focus on retargeting and exclusions transformed B2B ad efficiency and lowered costs dramatically.
- Caliber Fitness: A single plain-text ad became the seed of a thriving 16K+ member subreddit community.
- Adidas X Speedportal: Multi-format, Rick and Morty–themed creative showed the power of blending entertainment with smart placement.
- New Balance Fresh Foam: Contextual targeting in running subs drove credibility and a 52% lift in awareness.
- Adidas “You Got This” AMA Series: Athlete-led authenticity reconnected Gen Z to the joy of sports, earning a Shorty Award win in the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Reddit campaigns different from traditional social ads?
Unlike standard social platforms, Reddit thrives on community-first engagement. Brands that succeed treat campaigns as conversations rather than polished spots, much like those highlighted in this guide to viral marketing campaigns.
How can gamification enhance Reddit activations?
Reddit audiences respond well to interactive formats. Incorporating elements similar to a gamification strategy can boost participation, making campaigns feel like community-driven experiences rather than one-off ads.
What role does campaign design play in Reddit success?
Strong results often come from adapting creative to Reddit’s culture. Brands that focus on thoughtful campaign design ensure their messaging blends seamlessly into subreddit conversations instead of interrupting them.
Should Reddit campaigns include keyword targeting?
While subreddit targeting is essential, aligning content with user search behavior can also help. Many advertisers use PPC keyword research insights to better match campaign themes with trending discussions.
How can agencies optimize Reddit spend?
Experienced partners often balance efficiency with creativity, drawing on approaches similar to top digital marketing agency ad campaigns that emphasize testing, refinement, and cross-channel alignment.
Is Reddit marketing effective for niche brands?
Yes—Reddit offers unmatched targeting across thousands of interest-based communities. This makes it especially valuable for brands exploring Reddit marketing as a channel to reach hard-to-find audiences.
How do you choose the right Reddit agency partner?
Selecting an agency often depends on community expertise and proven results. Knowing how to choose a Reddit marketing agency can help avoid mismatches and wasted ad spend.
How can performance be tracked on Reddit campaigns?
Campaign success goes beyond clicks. Using Reddit analytics tools enables brands to monitor engagement quality, subreddit performance, and long-term community growth.
