Reddit is saying G'Day to Australians with the opening of its new Australian office in Sydney's Barangaroo towers, and says it is all part of helping to fulfil its mission "to bring community and belonging to everyone in the world."

Naturally, the company states Australia is core to its international growth strategy, with the launch following Reddit’s successful market entries in Canada in March 2021 and the United Kingdom in September 2020.

The company proudly boasts its new Australian team “launches with dedicated, locally-based Community, Engineering and Sales staff, as well as Country Manager, David Ray, who will join us in the coming weeks from WooliesX, 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. Our Australian Sales team sits within our global Sales org under the leadership of Reddit’s EVP and President Global Advertising, Harold Klaje.”

Reddit Chief Operating officer, Jen Wong said: “We’ve been fortunate to experience strong organic growth from our Australian user base in recent years, and with this comes a significant opportunity to level-up our local offering in a more focussed and nuanced way.

“From building out our highly engaged Australian communities to finding homes for local brands on the platform, this launch is just the beginning of our investment in the market and key to our wider international vision as we continue to scale Reddit at pace.”

Info from Reddit on its Australian users

Globally, Reddit says it “brings together more than 52 million Daily Active Users across 100,000+ communities. In Australia, user activity mimics global trends with gaming, crypto and entertainment among the most popular interest groups, but there is a clear local twist. r/australia, the community of 700,000 members where you can “chew the fat about Australia and Australians”, is the most popular subreddit among Australian users, with r/ausfinance and r/asx_bets following closely behind.

“In a surprise to no one, r/afl and r/nrl also make the Top 10 Australian communities list, joining Reddit’s ever-popular Sports Interest Group which attracted more than one billion screen views globally, for the month of April 2021 alone. Local takes on leading global communities are also popular among Australian Reddit users, with r/askanaustralian, r/australianteachers and r/ausproperty among the fastest growing communities for Australian users in 2021.

“At an average of 31 minutes per day, Australians spend more time on Reddit than they do Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Pinterest and they collectively contribute 158 million posts, comments and votes on the platform every month. 62% of our Australian users sit in the highly desirable 18 - 34 year old segment, with 28% aged between 35 - 49.”

Reddit is also making a play for the advertising dollar, and states it is “fair dinkum” for Aussie brands.

The company pitch is that “unlike other social media platforms, Aussies on Reddit are connected by passions and interests, rather than demographics which makes the platform home to some of the most honest, authentic and passionate conversations on the internet. It also makes for an environment you won’t find anywhere else online. 40% of Reddit users in Australia are not on Twitter, 20% are not on Facebook, 23% are not on Instagram, 51% are not on Snapchat and 70% are not on TikTok.”

UM’s US Chief Digital Officer, Joshua Lowcock said: “Reddit is a cultural phenomenon and a great platform for brands wishing to connect with customers, fans, and advocates who influence brand loyalty and purchase decisions.

"As an Australian expat living in New York, I have seen first-hand the success clients have had working with Reddit. Investing in a dedicated Australian presence and local approach to community and moderation will reinforce Reddit’s market position for locally-based brands and advertisers seeking to navigate the depth and breadth of the platform and unlock its immense value.”

Reddit says its “local Sales team will be committed to helping Australian brands meaningfully participate with these highly engaged, unduplicated audiences through best-in-class creative campaigns, scalable solutions and industry-leading trends and insights. They will work closely with our global team as we continue to evolve the Reddit Ads platform to meet the needs of all advertisers globally.”

Reprise CEO Maria Grivas said: “With the rise and power of online communities, the launch of Reddit in Australia is exciting not only for us but for the industry at large.

“Reddit is the home of online community and I'm looking forward to seeing more Australian brands embrace these highly influential online spaces and the distinct marketing opportunities they bring, with Reddit’s official introduction to the market.”

The company says you can learn about advertising opportunities or request case studies by contacting it here, although obviously, if you want to target the business and enterprise IT market of decision makers directly, without having to wade through all those Redditors, contact iTWire here.