Reddit sets foot in Australia, no immediate plans for SEA or Greater China expansion

Reddit has expanded into Australia by launching its first office in Sydney a few months after its entry into Canada in March and the UK last September. The company said in a blog post that Australia is core to its international growth strategy and its new team comprises locally-based community, engineering and sales staff.

David Ray will join as country manager in the coming weeks from WooliesX, the digital arm of Woolworths Group, and has experience leading teams in Australia for Amazon, Twitter and Telstra. The Australian business is managed by Reddit’s head of international, Tariq Mahmoud, and is already partnering with local entities, working with Australian-based moderators and communities, and establishing local brand partnerships. Its Australian sales team sits within its global sales organisation under the leadership of EVP and president global advertising, Harold Klaje. 

Globally, Reddit has more than 52 million daily active users across more than 100,000 communities. In Australia, the platform said user activity mimics global trends with gaming, crypto and entertainment among the most popular interest groups. With a number of communities on its platform, the Australian sales team will be targeting a wide range of advertisers. There are no immediate plans for Reddit to launch an office in Southeast Asia or Greater China. 

Reddit's chief operating officer, Jen Wong, said it has been fortunate to experience strong organic growth from its Australian user base in recent years. "With this comes a significant opportunity to level-up our local offering in a more focussed and nuanced way," Wong said. She added that the launch is just the beginning of its investment in the market and key to its wider international vision as it continues to scale Reddit at pace.

Aside from scaling its ads business through expansions, Reddit also officially launched its in-house creative agency, KarmaLab, in May this year. Led by global director Will Cady, KarmaLab's offering includes social listening and trends reports, step-by-step community management, creative workshops, and bespoke 360 campaign development, among others.

Cady said previously that its mission is to help every brand discover how to contribute authentically, meaningfully and effectively to the communities that matter most to them and their audiences. KarmaLab previously operated under Reddit's creative strategy function. Some of the brands it has worked with include Snickers and Samsung.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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