Persona audiences make it easier to target the right people. Instead of building a new audience, marketers can combine existing segments from the library into a single group using AND or OR logic. This article explains when persona audiences make sense, what to consider before using them, and how to create and manage a persona audience in illumin.
Best practice
After you launch a campaign with a Persona audience and look at reporting, you'll get data for the Persona total. You can't desegregate the data based on the individual segments that you combined to create the persona. For that reason, if you don't need the AND condition, you should avoid the Persona tool and instead add each separate audience to a different campaign tactic. That way, you'll get more granular reporting data.
Opening the audience page
Start by opening the Personas window. Log in to illumin. Go to the top menu bar and select Library > Audiences. Click the New Audience button. A new window display
Select the Personas card and then click the Next button.
Selecting segments
Enter a unique persona name. The default combination logic for multiple audiences is AND. You can switch that setting to OR (and adjust it later in the workflow).
- If you select the AND condition, the new audience includes users in each listed segment. That means the audience will be relatively small. Also, note the impact that an AND condition has on billing. Let's say you create a persona with Segment A, which has a $1.00 CPM, and Segment B, which has a $1.25 CPM. Later, that persona generates 1000 views. You'd get a bill for $1 for Segment A and $1.25 for Segment B.
- If you select OR, audience users can be in any one of the segments, which means a much broader audience scope.
The other fields are optional. Scroll down and click the Add Audiences button.
On the next page, select an audience tab and then enter a keyword. The page displays a list of segments in your library.
Optionally, click the Data Providers field and select one or more vendors (e.g. Foursquare, TruAudience, etc.) A list of audiences displays. Check a box to select an audience. All the selected audiences display in the right-hand column. Click the Next button when the list is complete.
The workflow returns to the General Settings page. Scroll down and review the segments. Click the trash icon to remove a segment. Click Add Audiences button to search for more segments.
When it all looks good, go to the top right corner of the page and click the Create Audience button.
Locate the persona segment
The workflow returns to the Audiences table. The new persona appears as a single record. To update the persona, go to the right side of the table row, click the three-dot icon, and select Edit. The workflow returns to the General Settings page.
FAQs
What is a Persona audience?
A Persona joins two or more existing segments with a rule that controls how strict the match must be. It helps you refine reach, but it also limits how much detail you see in reporting.
Why does reporting hide segment-level results?
A Persona counts as a single new audience. The system treats the blended segments as one unit, so individual segment performance does not appear in reports.
How do I avoid an audience that becomes too small?
Use OR instead of AND when you want broader reach. AND requires a user to appear in every segment, which reduces the total audience size.
How do CPM charges work when I use paid segments?
Each paid segment in your Persona still carries its own CPM. If a Persona impression serves, each segment’s CPM applies, so total cost increases.
When does a Persona make sense for strategy?
Use it when you want one audience that reflects a very specific overlap of traits or behaviors. It helps you test a hypothesis about a narrow group, even though you lose granularity in your reports.