Information is not the same as insight, so while organizations have an increasing amount of data about their audiences, they don’t always know how to make sense of it – what belongs, what’s actionable, and what will really help them meet their evolving challenges. Personas are a well-known tool for providing context, but they’ve usually been based on common denominators and averages. As content strategists, we understand that crafting compelling experiences requires us to have a deeper understanding of audiences than numbers alone will offer. At this hands-on workshop, we will learn how to develop another approach to creating audience personas. This approach complements data with an empathetic framework that produces a more human connection with a deeper understanding of customers’ wants and needs.

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Personas and Empathy
Content Strategy Meetup Group
September 25, 2013

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Section Separator
Hi and thanks for coming…
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Introduction…
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We’re Esteban and Kate…
Esteban González
Founder and Lead Strategist with Brand
Therapy.
We are an insights, strategy and ideas
boutique devoted to creating healthy,
sustainable brand relationships.

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Section Separator
Customers are king, right?
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sdfs
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Every company wants to
be seen as “customer-
centric”

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Most of the time,
though, this is how
companies see their
customers…
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I ♥ 2
spend
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Personas have been a tool
sdfs
Personas have been a
valuable tool for
developing a richer,
more human picture of
the customer
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sdfs
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But we live in the time
of “big data”
Qualitative, intuitive
tools like personas risk
being seen as not
serious enough…
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dfs
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“Not everything that can
be counted counts,
and not everything that
counts can be counted.”
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We like to say…
Information
≠
Insight
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They’re missing the point…
asdadsa
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We think personas are
about more than putting
a human face on
increasingly more
data…

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Even more…
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We think that personas provide a qualitatively different
benefit for companies — one that is becoming
increasingly important precisely because we have so
much more information…

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The brand strategy
How do personas do all this?
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They harness empathy…
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sdfs
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Empathy provides context.
This is the most valuable tool
for differentiating what is truly
meaningful and what is really
spurious…

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And when we think about our own goals…
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They also allow us to
see ourselves and how
we work differently
1. More like a team
2. More human
3. More in concert and
complementary
4. Less like silos

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This is what this evening is about…
How empathy makes personas more — not just as
richer pictures of customers, but as richer frameworks
for the strategic process.

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The brand strategy
Our approach to personas…
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adad
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We still start with the
same facts, but we focus
on entertaining a
different kind of
connection with them…

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dsf
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sdf
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sdfs
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The key is how we
process all the bits of
information we know…

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Draw on our own empathy
We begin to see patterns
in the data…
 Historically, most CARA members are women
 Almost half of members are between 30 and 45
years of age
 Members most often cite they like the
camaraderie and friendships, taking care of the
lakefront, and personal motivation
 Frequent needs identified in surveys and our
focus groups: better programs for a broader
range of runners, from beginners to elites
 Most people identify “runner advocacy” as a key
CARA activity, few, though, know what this is
 Marathon training accounts for only a quarter of
members at any given time, but over half of
members will participate in a program
 They are successful people: over 2/3 have
incomes over $75k; 2/5 earn over $100k
 Just over half (54%) live in Chicago, and just
under half (44%) live in the suburbs; members
want more programs outside the city/north side
 Newer members made up the largest group of
respondents to the 2011 membership survey
 Member running styles range; most report they
run between 11 and 20 miles a week
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Data reveals a path to the emotions at play…
Demographics
Web transactions
Retail purchases
Social behavior
Emotional drivers
behind preferences,
connections, tastes,
attitudes and values
Things we can
measure
Things that matter
for empathy
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Persona Model
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We break down the
traditional ways of
looking at consumers
by describing people in
more human terms…
1. Their ideas about status
2. The things they trust
3. Their comfort zones
4. Their affinities for things
5. How they act in groups

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We created a Model
A Persona
Model
Data 
My first reaction to challenges that cross my path is to…
Look for new options ahead Second-guess my previous decisions
When I walk to work or one of my favorite places, I…
Stick to the way I know Try a new way each time
I find groups like CARA attractive for their…
Fun, friendships, and camaraderie Expertise, resources, and benefits
I set personal and professional goals for myself…
To stay motivated, inspired To keep me ahead of others
When I think of volunteering, it’s more about…
A responsibility to give back A personal choice to give back
Working in groups, professionally or with friends, I tend to…
Get along to go along Be the squeaky wheel
My interests and passions are…
About mastering new things About sanity and balance
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sdf
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adfa
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1. True to the data
2. Trigger a personal connection
3. Give emotional details beyond
their short stories
4. Allow for subtle differences in
attitudes
They provoke…

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How it works example
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Empathy is a personal
experience…
It becomes
transformational when it
happens in a group
working together.

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fsds
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The brand strategy
A hands-on exercise:
an abbreviated version of this…
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About people…
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 Almost two-thirds of members are female; most members live in
Chicago, with a few coming from the suburbs
 About two-thirds seem to have joined in the last two years, which
might correspond to an increased importance in the industry
 Over half of members have attended a meetup; half of those
reported they’ve attended an event this year
 Only 40% of members have given information about their
professional situation; of those, almost all are practitioners
 Of practitioners, a third each identified themselves as working for
agencies or companies
We noticed a few things…
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The social aspect of an organization is…
For people looking for something Fun with birds of a feather
In general, I approach decisions based on…
Thorough objective research Educated “gut” feelings
For a professional organization, I’m mostly interested in…
Networking and meeting people Access to expert POVs
When I read about our business, I do it mainly for…
Curiosity, to develop an edge Fear of not keeping up
We created a model
that hints at some
personality traits that
might fill in areas not
covered by research

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Skeleton A
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Female, 27, single, Logan Sq. From
St. Louis, went to Notre Dame.
Prospective member, digital agency.
I’ve been a project manager for
about five years now. I love process
and figuring out how to keep all the
dishes spinning the way they're
supposed to. Lately, though, I’ve
been feeling like I should do more
with my English/psych background.
I’m not a writer but I love how people
absorb info. Content, maybe?
The social aspect of an organization is…
For people looking for something Fun with birds of a feather
In general, I approach decisions based on…
Thorough objective research Educated “gut” feelings
For a professional organization, I’m mostly interested in…
Networking and meeting people Access to expert POVs
When I read about our business, I do it mainly for…
Curiosity, to develop an edge Fear of not keeping up

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Skeleton B
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Male, 36, married, Wheaton. From
Philadelphia, went to UCSB.
Practitioner, corporate side.
I studied journalism for undergrad,
and after working in publishing, did
grad work in library science. I
manage web content for a large
manufacturer of a industrial goods,
all the supporting materials. My wife
says I found the true calling for my
OCD, so now I can leave her closet
alone. And the kitchen.
The social aspect of an organization is…
For people looking for something Fun with birds of a feather
In general, I approach decisions based on…
Thorough objective research Educated “gut” feelings
For a professional organization, I’m mostly interested in…
Networking and meeting people Access to expert POVs
When I read about our business, I do it mainly for…
Curiosity, to develop an edge Fear of not keeping up

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Skeleton C
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Female, 42, divorced, Andersonville.
From Virginia, NYU grad.
Practitioner, interactive agency.
I started as a copywriter for a big
agency. Switched to interactive and
lived through the bubble. Expanded
my horizons, luckily, as content has
become more a focus for clients. I
came to Chicago with my ex, but
love it here. Great place for kids and
I like the quality of life.
The social aspect of an organization is…
For people looking for something Fun with birds of a feather
In general, I approach decisions based on…
Thorough objective research Educated “gut” feelings
For a professional organization, I’m mostly interested in…
Networking and meeting people Access to expert POVs
When I read about our business, I do it mainly for…
Curiosity, to develop an edge Fear of not keeping up

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Some questions…
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Which skeleton rings most true? Why?
Are there any details you would adjust?

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The brand strategy
OK, what’s next?
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asdfasd
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[bt]

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Needs — circumstances in which something is necessary; a requirement
Motivations — the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a
particular way; the general desire or willingness of someone to do something
Aspirations — a hope or ambition of achieving something; the object of such
an ambition; a goal
Fears — a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something or the
safety and well-being of someone
Frustrations — the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of
inability to change or achieve; the prevention of the progress, success, or
fulfillment of something
We brainstorm about…
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The Results
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The brand strategy
So, continuing with our exercise…
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1. Split into three groups
2. Each group brainstorm
on one of three aspects
of the persona
3. Come back and report
4. Time: 20 min
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adsads
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Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity
sdfs
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See you back here in a few minutes…
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The brand strategy
OK, so what happened?
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What did you uncover about meetup members?

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ytfyf
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Did you notice anything about how the people
in your group interacted?

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sdfsf
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[bt]

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The brand strategy
How the story winds up…
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If we were building
complete personas,
we would give each
one a face…
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sdf
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sdf
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Be a springboard to richer customer journeys…
“I’ve been a
runner forever
and all my
friends know
me as a
runner. I’m out
there on the
lake year
‘round. Just
like a crazy
person…”
“I need to see
CARA is about
running as a
life choice,
and I need it
to be a
buttoned-up
leader
affecting
greater
change. I get
excited by the
Roads
Scholars,
runner
diversity, etc.
…”
“I learned
about CARA a
long time ago.
It had quite a
reputation and
was a big part
of running
history in
Chicago…”
“I need to see
there’s
something for
every person
and a path for
growth. From
just enjoying
running more
to making
running better
for
everyone…”
I can run on
my own. I
need CARA to
have matured
like I have:
there are
serious issues
impacting
Chicagoans’
running life.
CARA should
tackle
those…”
“I became
more involved
when I needed
more
challenge: my
PRs, races,
training for the
marathon —
and I loved
how they were
a watchdog for
the
lakefront…”
“I needed the
excitement of
being part of a
kind of
movement,
and I was a
true believer. I
needed that
sense of
mission…”
PROLOGUE WINBACK
EARLY
ENGAGEMENT
CONTINUITYENROLLMENT ATTRITIONINTRODUCTION

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Give insight into deeper issues facing a brand…
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Tension between being
“grassroots” and
“buttoned up”
Separation of running as
an action and running
as a way of life
The advantage of
being unbiased is
underleveraged
A low profile in a running
landscape dominated
by big players
Everything’s transaction-
based, “what do I get?”
all about the benefits
Relationships are
centered on activities
with an expiration date

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The brand strategy
To sum up…
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Four strategies for harnessing empathy to build better personas…
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Absorb data and
look for patterns
Make research
user-friendly
Collaborate,
provoke and
conspire
Dive into what’s
available. Get your
hands dirty with
guerrilla research.
Take what you know
and turn it sideways.
Find dimensions that
make human sense.
With human truths,
everyone can
contribute. Be ready
for the baggage to
surface.
Start with stories
that ring true
Derail data-think.
Empathy comes from
people seeing things in
familiar terms.

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Raising the game
In the end, for us,
empathy is a powerful
tool for…
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Thank You
[bt] | Brand Therapy
Esteban González
esteban@brandtherapy.us
914.414.7104
Chicago, IL
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