The IAB UK Podcast Inside Reddit: a conversation with Jen Wong
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Mar 11, 2026 
Jen Wong, Reddit’s Global COO who steers growth, ads and community policy, joins to unpack the platform’s shift from niche forums to a scaled global service. Conversations cover Reddit’s community-first structure, why anonymity fosters honest discussion, contextual targeting and measurement, moderation and voting systems, and how brands can authentically engage with interest-driven communities.
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Communities Not Profiles Power Reddit
- Reddit is built around 100,000 interest-based communities where anonymous users create the content and moderation, not named influencer accounts.
- That structure created a trove of human experience indexed by search and relied on by LLMs for authentic perspectives.
Reddit's User Base Is Broader Than The Stereotype
- Reddit's demographics are more balanced than perceived: about 55/45 male/female and a bell curve centered near age 30.
- Long tenure (20 years) means users cycle through life stages, keeping communities relevant across ages and interests.
Target Context Over Demographics
- Do target ads by user context and community interest rather than relying solely on demographics.
- Reddit ads are often relevant because they match the subreddit topic or the specific context a user is reading, e.g., ski gear inside a skiing post.