Reddit has taken aim at one of advertising’s most entrenched habits, arguing marketers are still relying too heavily on attribution models that fail to reflect how consumers actually make decisions online today.
The criticism comes as Reddit launches what it describes as an industry-first “dual attribution” solution, designed to show advertisers both Reddit’s first-party attribution reporting and third-party last-touch reporting side-by-side inside Ads Manager.
Speaking to B&T, Tesia Sommer said many marketers are still trying to measure increasingly fragmented consumer behaviour with systems built for a much simpler internet.
“Last-click attribution remains an important part of how marketers measure performance today, particularly for cross-channel deduplication and standardised reporting,” Sommer said.
“But as the consumer journey has become more fragmented and non-linear, many marketers recognise that last-click alone may not fully capture all of the touchpoints that influence a decision.”
According to Sommer, the problem is particularly evident on Reddit, where consumers often spend significant time researching products, comparing opinions and seeking advice from communities before converting elsewhere.
“On Reddit, discovery is often a multi-step process where users research products, compare perspectives, and seek input from communities before ultimately converting, even if their final ad interaction happens elsewhere,” she said.
“In those cases, traditional attribution models will primarily credit the final interaction, while earlier influence from platforms like Reddit can be harder to fully capture.”
The launch comes as advertisers face mounting pressure to prove ROI across increasingly complex customer journeys, where discovery, research and conversion can happen across multiple platforms, devices and sessions.
Sommer said the new product was designed to give marketers a broader understanding of how purchasing decisions are formed, rather than relying on what she described as “partial signals”.
“Dual Attribution gives marketers the opportunity to move beyond measurement approaches that may only tell one side of the story, whether through first-party or third-party attribution reporting,” she said.
“Without that broader context, marketers are often left making investment decisions based on partial signals.”
The move also reflects a wider shift across the advertising industry, as platforms rethink measurement tools amid privacy changes, AI-powered optimisation and evolving consumer behaviour.
Sommer argued advertisers now need to move beyond the idea that any single measurement model can fully explain performance.
“As consumer discovery behavior becomes more fragmented and non-linear, it’s beneficial for advertisers to move beyond relying on any single measurement methodology to tell the full story,” she said.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach.”
Reddit also shared early campaign performance tied to its AI-powered advertising products, including lower CPA outcomes through its Max campaigns and App Event Optimisation tools.
Healthcare brand DocMorris reportedly achieved a 73 per cent lower purchase CPA using Max campaigns compared to previous paid social activity, while AllTrails recorded a 28 per cent lower Start Trial CPA using Reddit’s App Event Optimisation product.
Sommer said AI is increasingly automating the execution side of advertising, allowing marketers to focus more heavily on strategic decision-making.
“In short, AI is optimising advertising execution, so brands can focus on strategy including their objectives, audiences, targeting and positioning,” she said.
