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The Big Impression
Reddit's Paulita David on how brands are using the internet’s most valuable focus group
00:23:22
Paulita David, Head of Global Insights at Reddit, unpacks how brands are tapping into Reddit’s communities for sharper consumer insights, real-time cultural signals, and a deeper understanding of what drives decision-making online.
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A
Damien.
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B
I'm damian fowler.
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A
And I'm ilyce loefring.
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And welcome to the big impression.
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This week we're diving into one of the Internet's most honest places, for better or worse, Reddit. We're joined by Paulita David, VP of US Large customer sales at Reddit.
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Paulita worked on a campaign with Dove that took real user feedback and turned it into a real world campaign, which
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sounds simple, but most brands still don't actually do it.
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So today we'll looking at how you go from reading the comments to building the campaign. So we should start simple. What actually sparked this campaign? What was happening on Reddit that made Dove want to lean in?
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C
Well, it's a, it's a really. I just love this campaign. I love it. I think it is. It takes all of Dove's magical brand equity of real and authentic, and it marries it with Reddit's equity of real and authentic. And so Dove was thinking about what they were going to do to launch this new hair mask, and they went on Reddit because Reddit, at Reddit we have over a thousand subreddits, we call them, their communities, all about beauty, hair, fashion, skincare, makeup, everything you can imagine. So there are really deep conversations about this. So Dove went on and we unlocked all of these insights for them about not just hair, but how people feel about it, sentiment. And in the process, they're saying, well, you know, you have all of these really rich conversations and people are already talking about these products and they're having opinions and thoughts and real life experiences about them. What if we leaned into that? What if we said, okay, people have been using this product and they have thoughts and some people like it, some people don't. Let's just lean into that in a real authentic way. And so what they did was they took what we call an engagement prompt and they said, hey, guys. Hey, Redditors. We have this new hair mask and, and we want to hear your thoughts on it. So the first 50 reviews, good or bad, we're going to put in our new campaign. And that's what they did.
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Wow, that's brave, indeed.
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Very honest.
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Yes, yes. Really brave.
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Yeah, yeah. So I'm a huge Redditor myself. Oh, I love that. It does feel like a very open and honest place where it really, you know, consumers come to air their concerns or thoughts. What made, I guess, this insight so actionable instead of just interesting?
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C
What's really interesting about sort of what Dove did in this, in this moment is that they realized that the most trusted product Reviews weren't coming from the brands. What they realized was that the most trusted product reviews were from people who used the product and were talking about it. And they. They saw that that already lives on Reddit. And so as a brand, they leaned into that. They said, these conversations are already happening. How do we lean into this in a really authentic way? And so they really double down on that and said, we're going to unearth all of these insights that already exist because they're real. Yeah, it really shows a lot of confidence and as you said before, really courageous.
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B
Yeah. Speaking of courageous, in some ways, this is a little bit counterintuitive because often you feel like brands, you know, have this big concept and then they, like, filter down into the campaigns, but this is gathering, you know, guys doing social listening. So do you think this campaign in some ways challenges or expands assumption about where Reddit fits into the funnel and how that all plays into future possibilities?
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C
Yeah, I think when you look at brands to your point, a lot of it is top down. A lot of it is we're talking at you, and that's fine. There's absolutely space for that. But in this instance, it was much more listening. And, you know, when people are making decisions about, you know, whatever it is, you want to get input from people who have already lived the experience or used the product or have advice on what you can do. In this instance, it is so much more credible to make a decision based on someone else's lived experience. So in this instance, what they leaned into again is really that, you know, people are going to talk about your product. They're going to do it whether you're there or not. You can't put your head in the ground. It's just going to happen. So what they said is like, we want to hear what people are saying. You know, this product may not be for everyone, and that's just life. And so I think they were looking for a lot of just honest conversation about it. I think what was most surprising to all of us was that when you have good reviews, it makes sense that people want to use your product. What no one really realized was that the not so good reviews actually boosted the thoughts on the product. I love the smell. So if you're thinking about using this product and people are inherently positive. Right. So if you're thinking of using this product, you're like, well, I. I'm not really smell sensitive or I like generally the smells of Dove products. I'm gonna go try it. So the performance of this campaign was made so Much better by the sort of negative reviews.
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B
One of the things that's interesting is what did it sort of tell you as you dialed into how people use platforms like Reddit when they're making these real decisions?
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So Reddit is really interesting in that you, you really only get credit for adding value. And so you know, you as, as you know, as a Redditor, you upvote good content, downvote bad content. And Redditors love to add value. And it's a really great platform for purchase decisions for throughout the funnel because you are getting reviews from people who have used the product, who have life experiences with the product, who can describe to you very specifically how they use the product, what kind, in this case, what kind of hair they have, how it worked on their hair, et cetera. So this, so Reddit is a phenomenal place for, for purchase decisions in general when you think about beauty, fashion, skincare, makeup, all of those things. As I mentioned, we have over a thousand communities that are constantly talking about this and the large majority of those conversations are product based. So it is inherently commercial. If you can, as a brand, lean into that and become part of the conversation, it is gold.
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What did this campaign reveal about how people use platforms like Reddit when they're making real decisions?
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C
Yeah, and I think we all live this, right? There is so much information and there is so much good information and there's also so much not so good information. And people don't really know, especially in this world of AI AI slop, they don't really know what's true, what's authentic, what's real information. So this is where Reddit really plays an important role, because what Reddit does is it gives you trusted information from people who have lived a real experience and they have used a real product and, and have real thoughts and opinions on this product, this experience. They have advice that has been lived and it doesn't get more human than that.
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Right.
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We talk a lot about artificial intelligence, but you can't have artificial intelligence without human intelligence. And that's where Reddit sits in the world. It's that human piece. And so for Dove, when they're talking about real reviews, where are you going to go for real reviews? There's no better place for trust and authenticity than Reddit.
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It's interesting that the, as the world gets more complicated and more fragmented, Reddit becomes this place, this maybe this sort of authentic source of truth. On, on that point, I wonder if there's anything about the campaign that challenged or maybe showed, showed the way for brands, when they typically think about their audience, this is a kind of a revelation in some ways, perhaps.
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C
Yes. You know, what I love about this campaign is that Dove really took a, as you mentioned earlier, a courageous step here. And because you cannot control what people are going to say, right? And they're going to say whether you're there or not. And they said, you know what? We're going to take the first 50 reviews no matter what. What is more terrifying to a marketer than that and what it shows is an enormous amount of confidence. And that translates into confidence into their own products, because they knew that they have such a phenomenal product that no matter what people say, it's. It's gonna be beneficial in some way to someone. And that's what I love about this.
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The.
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Just the sheer confidence. And, you know, we all know confidence is sexy. You know, people are gonna talk about you whether you are there or not. And so leaning into, you know, the potential good, bad, and ugly means that you get to be part of the conversation. You get to learn from people who have used your products. You get to have other people who have used your product. Sort of not just sell your product, but defend against things that people are saying about your product.
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I'm curious, you know, how after the campaign, if you. Your kind of brain is sparking with oil, sorts of future possibilities and future ideas for other brands, who might want to lean into this kind of data that you guys can supply?
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C
Yes, thank you for that question. Because I have so many ideas. Anyone call me up, what I love about this is that, you know, they really leaned into the power of the community, and who has better ideas about your brands and your products than people who use them? And we see this across the board, not just in beauty and fashion and makeup. What we see, especially like in technology and things for parents and kids, is that people use your product, they love it, and they want more, or they use your product and they need something tweaked. So to be able to use this information, it's like the world's biggest focus group. How much time, effort, and money do brands spend on focus groups when really you have all these people that have already used your product and care enough to tell you about it. That's the thing. Like Redditors really care. And if they care enough to help you make your product better, that is so fantastic.
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A
I wonder if you can talk a little bit about the anonymous nature of Reddit too, at the same time, because I feel like when you're talking about focus group, especially I feel like that's what. Why people come to Reddit is, so they can really be that authentic self. And there's a level of, like, authenticity there that is hard to find.
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C
It's almost impossible to find. Right. And we think about Reddit is, you know, not a billboard. It's you walk into a pub or with a bunch of people that are really interested in what you're interested in and really want to have conversations, deep conversations about what you're interested in. To your point, about anonymity, it's a really safe space. And we, you, you mentioned earlier that you use Reddit and, and what did, what was the last thing you used Reddit for in a real way?
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Shopping for an engagement ring.
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Oh, that's amazing. Okay, so think about, like that life decision. Think about how important it is. And also, had you ever bought an engagement ring before?
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No. No.
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Have you ever been in the market for an engagement ring before?
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No.
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Do you know anything about engagement rings?
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No. I had learned a lot through Reddit. It's true. There you go. I even learned that the exact ring that I picked out shouldn't have, you know, been made the way it was.
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There you go. There you go. So are you gonna put that in a really public place? Like, are you going to announce, hey, all of my friends and family, I am looking for a ring and this is my budget and this is what I want. And I want it to come from a really wonderful place and I don't. Or even take it a next step. I don't know what I want. I have no idea. I've never done this before. Think about other life events, like having a baby, right? If it's your first baby, you've never had one before, do you want to tell all your friends and family that you are absolutely terrified or that your baby won't stop crying and you're going out of your mind? Or buying a house? Do you want to tell all of your friends and family that this is your budget, that you have no idea how to get a mortgage, that you have never done this before and you are terrified, and you know, there's all these life events that you might not even know who to turn to, and that's really, you know, to the point of anonymity, like health stuff. You know, we have all these really wonderful sub subs on menopause, on balding, on all of these, you know, really personal things that are happening to you that maybe you just want to talk to people who've had your shared experience.
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B
Yeah, it's mind blowing when you think about the what's out there that you say the repository of human experience captured. The way you put it like that makes me think, wow. It's sort of like almost like a history, a draft, a first draft of history. They used to say journalism's the first draft of history, but maybe Reddit is the first draft certainly now. Yeah. You know, how should marketers, though, think about, you know, that role, the role already, the role of community as, as research, as, as media for creative input. What are the kind of like things that they would grapple with, you know, in terms of the. What it should be.
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C
So we play in every piece of the journey, right? So think of this campaign going back all the way to Insights, but we go back even farther. Like brands and companies use us for new product innovation, for trends. You know, we're talking about beauty. Korean skincare and beauty was on Reddit five years before it ever hit stores in the U.S. like, talk about being ahead of trends and what's happening in the world. So you start there and then you started the product innovation. There's people talking about your products or the category of your products, and then you. It's the insights, it's sentiment, it's, you know, how people feel all the way to this is my product. We want to think about, you know, awareness and then you get to the consideration, all the way to the purchase. And when you think about Reddit, you see things all over the Internet, right? What people do is they see something and then they validate it on Reddit. So, so I saw this amazing, you know, new lipstick, you know, somewhere they go on Reddit, hey, is this, you know, all that is cracked up to be? Have you used it? And then people say, I bought it, it was awesome. Or I bought it and do not buy this. Right? And it's people, you know, that are using your product or, you know, I always like to say you always had that friend that is like really fashion forward or really into beauty and makeup. And that's who you call when you're like, I need a new eyeliner, I need a new Blush. Imagine if you had a hundred of those friends and they could constantly be your place to give advice on what you're buying. That's what we have here.
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How should marketers rethink the role of community? Is it research, media, creative input? Is it all three as you think about what's out there?
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So we play in the entire journey from, you know, pre trends and what's happening in the world, all the way to purchasing a product. And it is all on the foundation of trust. Trust in what the product is, trust in the community that's recommending it, trust in really folks that have used the product all the way to validation that it's a good product to purchase of the product. And I think that is all what Reddit is all about. It's about trust and authenticity.
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So I'm curious, as the AI generated content increases across the Internet, how does that elevate the importance of the human conversation, especially in platforms like Reddit?
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So, as you correctly stated, Reddit is a really big and important player in the LLM world. What the LLMs really look for is conversation, and that is what they're pulling into their results. And there is no better place on the Internet for conversations than Reddit.
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What's one emerging consumer behavior or cultural shift that you've seen that you think marketers might be underestimating right now?
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I think it's that validation that when someone sees a product or, you know, a campaign, they are immediately going to Reddit to validate whether that product is any good.
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Are you seeing any signals now that you can kind of that predict trends? I mean, that's a huge question.
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That's a whole podcast on that.
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Oh, yeah, I see.
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But yeah, I, we, we see so many trends and we, we are the originator of trends. The things that you see elsewhere probably started on Reddit.
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Interesting.
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So we have some hot seats of rapid fire questions for you now. So first of all, what is one thing brands consistently miss when it comes to consumer insights?
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I think it's the being part of the conversation. Right? We have people telling you what, what they think. People are giving you real opinions, real lived experiences, real thoughts. Like those are the insights. Don't talk at people. Listen and then be part of the conversation.
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What needs to change in how marketers listen to consumers?
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Oh, I'd love that. I think it's really, really actually listening. For so long in the history of marketing, we were talking at consumers and to take a step back and get out of that is really hard. It is really hard to break the mold and listen to consumers in a real way. And that's why I love this campaign so much, because it's really listening.
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Is there a myth about Reddit or online communities that need to die a quick death?
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I love that. Yes. Well, one myth that's a really big one is that of who's on Reddit, who are Redditors? I'll tell you, redditors are 50, 50 male, female, and people are always surprised by that. And I think the other thing is that, you know, the Internet is this, like, dark and trolley place. Reddit is overwhelmingly positive. It is, you know, 95% of the conversations are really positive. You can get the snark, but it's in the places that you're looking for the snark. You're not going to get trolled on Reddit. It's just a really positive place. You see a lot of, you know, helpful and value add.
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Okay, what advice would you give to a CMO about tapping into real consumer conversation?
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Be courageous. They're going to talk about you whether you're there or not. Lean into the conversation, be part of it and get a little bit out of the comfort zone.
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B
And that's it for this edition of the Big Impression.
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This show is produced by Molten Heart. Our theme is by Love and Caliber, and our associate producer is Sydney Cairns.
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And remember, we talk a lot about, you know, artificial intelligence, but you can't have artificial intelligence without human intelligence. And that's where Reddit sits in the world. It's that human piece.
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I'm Damian.
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And I'm Aylase, and we'll see you next time.