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How Caliber used transparency to create one of the best Reddit ads ever
How often do you come across an ad that makes you stop and think to yourself “wow, this ad is so gooood!”
An ad that not only gets upvoted 19,200 times and gets countless Reddit user awards but also generates over 7,200 mostly positive comments.
This Reddit ad by Caliber did exactly that!
Even more than that, in the bigger scheme of things it represents a great example of how transparency and honesty can be appealing and drive real business results!
Let's break down what made it so appealing.
It doesn't look like an ad. It looks more like a regular Ask Me Anything Reddit post than an ad.
For example, this is a regular, even a very good Reddit ad:
But still, it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, so... it still is just another ad.
Regular ads will always follow the "best practice":
- Sales focused headline
- Stock photo
- Button signaling it's an ad
- Closed comments section
What about the Caliber ad?
- Personal message
- No image
- No button
- A TON of comments
Let's nerd it out and see why it worked so well.
Headline
The headline is personal, coming straight from the co-founder, describes the product in a few words: "strength training app", and catchy at the same time as it mentions all of the cool stuff. "100% free", "no ads, no paywalls, and no 3rd party tracking."
Intro
The ad text begins with a direct, personal introduction from the co-founder using his first name. There aren't too many (if any?) that do it, so it definitely helps to stand out.
In the second sentence, Justin admits that this is an ad. But he also swiftly adds that he has been active on reddit for over 8 years and he doesn't like the ads himself and apologize for invading the inbox.
Result - he informed users about his intentions transparently, but also managed to establish a connection with readers and earn their trust (he is over 8 years around, after all, so he knows the platform and what users want and don't want)
Only after he established a connection and trust, he explains why he is running an ad.
And while the real reason is that he is promoting his product, he gives another, non-selfish reason so that it is not all about him.
Notice the part "we've been hard at work for years building the Caliber workout app and I want to get the word out". Makes him and his team "real", and causes empathy on the readers' side, which then leads to the willingness to support and help.
Then he says: "More importantly, I want to help people get better results from their fitness routines". So it's not all about him. There is a mission. A higher goal behind the work that he and his team have put in.
About the product
When it’s time to introduce his app, Justin does another smart thing.
He’s aware of the fact that all the good stuff he mentioned (no subscription, ads, and paywalls) may sound too good to be true to some users so to anticipate their questions, he says he’ll touch upon this aspect later in his post. (see "How do you make money?" below)
Then, he gives the product pitch and makes it more convincing by subtly mentioning he’s eating his own cooking by saying "(I like to use this to keep track of the power rack setup for specific exercises)".
Monetization
After explaining the product, it's time for the full transparency promised in the introduction.
In a full paragraph, he explains how and they're able to offer the app for free and also how do they make money. Ever seen any other ad doing it? Me neither... Brilliant.
But also, he subtly uses this opportunity to pitch their premium coaching service.
Next steps
First, he invites readers to join the community. Reddit community as this is the reddit ad, no external newsletter or anything like that.
Explains what will they find there and integrates a deep link that will take the user to download the app based on the device he's using.
And finally, at the end, he invites readers to leave comments! Breaking the so-called "best practice" invented by lazy marketing teams to lock comments on the ad.
But the work doesn't stop here. He's actually responding to the comments. Making people still feel he is one of them.
Final thoughts
People value honesty, authenticity, and transparency. It makes you (and your brand) likable, helps build a connection on a personal level, and makes your ads stand out from the rest.
As one of the commenters said, Caliber’s ad feels like “a genuine outreach with an authentic message.”
And that was the key to creating their successful Reddit ad.
The feedback says it all.
Thank you for sticking with it until the end. I hope you had fun and learned something valuable that you can use in running your companies, startups, and marketing teams!
Cheers,
Nikola
P.S. Once again, here is the link to the original ad: https://www.reddit.com/user/caliber-justin/comments/uxpv93/hi_im_one_of_the_founders_of_caliber_a_100_free/
