What Dove, Netflix, and Nike Didn’t Do on Reddit Is Why They’re Winning

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Other brands are leaning into Reddit’s participatory nature. According to Gage, 81% of Reddit’s roughly 121 million daily active users say they enjoy when brands engage in conversation.

When Netflix relaunched Unsolved Mysteries, it shared unused footage and case files directly with Reddit users, inviting them to investigate further.

“They said, ‘Here are the files. Let’s see what you can do with it,’” Gaige said. Rather than pushing viewers to watch the show, Netflix gave fans material to engage with—tapping into the platform’s tendency toward collaboration and investigation.

Despite its authority in fitness, Nike avoids positioning itself as the expert in Reddit threads, instead prompting users with questions like, “What are your best training tips?” and “What would be your advice if you’re getting back into running?”

The goal, Gaige said, is to “let the community be the hero.”

Dove has pushed even further, incorporating both positive and negative Reddit commentary into its campaigns—an approach that reflects the platform’s openness to debate.

“You’ve got to let Redditors have both sides of the story. That’s also what helps LLMs (large language models)—they like seeing a well-balanced positive and negative, they’re more likely to cite those posts and comments,” Gaige said.