Capabilities

Synthetic Research

"Data and insights power every stage of our work from shaping the initial idea to optimizing campaigns in real time."

Jess Poe

VP of Client Leadership at Brandience

“Data and insights power every stage of our work from shaping the initial idea to optimizing campaigns in real time. When strategy, creative, and media are all informed by data, the result is smarter decisions and stronger performance.”

Jess Poe

VP of Client Leadership at Brandience

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"We believe that data tells a story. We use advanced data analytics tools and techniques to uncover the insights that drive your marketing strategy and performance."

"Data and insights power every stage of our work from shaping the initial idea to optimizing campaigns in real time. When strategy, creative, and media are all informed by data, the result is smarter decisions and stronger performance."

Jess Poe
VP of Client Leadership at Brandience

SYNTHETIC RESEARCH

SMRT Study

Brands and agencies often face a familiar gap: the space between gut feeling and investment. You have big questions early:

‍Are we inthe right territory? Which direction is worth investing in?

Traditional research is powerful but it’s often too slow or too costly for these early moments. Guesswork, on the other hand, creates risk.

SMRT Study was built for that in‑between moment. It brings early, directional audience insight into the conversation so teams can pressure‑test ideas, validate direction, and move forward with confidence before committing to larger investments of time, budget, or production.

Ready to pressure‑test ideas before you invest?

Explore Synthetic Research

Proven Directional Alignment with Traditional Qualitative Research

SMRT (Synthetic Market Research & Testing) Study results have been tested against prior qualitative studies, delivering early insights that are directionally aligned with traditional qual at significantly lower cost and in a fraction of the time when it’s needed most.

‍Validated across Healthcare, Restaurant, and Retail categories.

SYNTHETIC RESEARCH

What Is SMRT Study Synthetic Research?

SMRT Study is an AI-powered qualitative research approach that simulates how defined audience segments are likely to perceive and react to brands, messages, and creative ideas.

Synthetic audiences simulate probable reactions based on patterns learned from extremely large volumes of publicly available and licensed human language data from multiple LLM’s.

The result is fast, directional insight that helps teams explore perceptions, pressure-test ideas, and evaluate scenarios early in the process.

Built with Intention. Not Prompt and Pray

SMRT Study isn’t the same as dropping questions into a generative AI tool and hoping for useful answers.

Brandience’s proprietary synthetic research capability is built using proprietary, marketer‑designed methods, including:

Structured research frameworks and repeatable formats
Controlled inputs and standardized prompts
Pre defined learning objectives rooted in real research practice
Human review and interpretation at every step

These guardrails reduce variability, limit bias, and ensure insights are grounded, comparable, and usable, avoiding many of the common pitfalls associated with unmanaged AI inputs and outputs.

How Brandience Uses Synthetic Research

Long before generative AI became mainstream, Brandience was integrating advanced technology into marketing: from emotion tracking video analysis and AI powered media buying to early AI policies and governance, persona modeling, and the creation of an internal AI Hub.

As AI capabilities evolved, a new opportunity arose: To bring audience perspective into the process earlier.

We don’t treat synthetic research as a standalone tool. It’s an intentional part of our broader data & insight framework that we use to support:

Early-stage strategy validation

Clarifying audience perceptions of brands, products, and categories.

Creative pressure-testing

Narrowing directions, refining messaging, and strengthening conceptsbefore production.

Hypothesis testing

Confirming or challenging assumptions with audience-informed perspective.

Decision support

Helping teams move faster with confidence.

Let's talk about Synthetic Research

Our synthetic research capability

Brandience's synthetic research capability includes proprietary, marketer-designed methods built to deliver clarity quickly:

Study 01

Consumer Perception SMRT Study

Explores how audiences likely view a brand, product, service, or category – surfacing key themes and points of view that inform positioning and strategy.

Study 02

Creative Concepts SMRT Study

Gathers directional reactions to early creative ideas such as campaign territories, messaging, taglines, or concepts to help teams understand what resonates, what's confusing, and where to refine.

Frequently Asked Question About Synthetic Research

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How is synthetic research different from traditional research?

Synthetic research and traditional research serve different and complementary purposes.

Traditional research provides nuance, emotional depth, and unexpected human insight.
Synthetic research delivers early directional clarity with speed, efficiency built on models intentionally trained to think and respond like people do. While the responses are synthetic, they often closely reflect real human perspectives.

We use each method intentionally, choosing the right mix based on what the challenge requires. When deeper validation, lived experience, or emotional complexity is needed, traditional research remains the right tool.

When is synthetic research the right fit?

Synthetic research is especially valuable when:

Speed matters
Budgets need to be protected early
Audiences are hard to reach
Directional guidance is sufficient
Teams need clarity before committing further

What makes Brandience’s synthetic research capability different?

What sets Brandience apart is how and why we use synthetic research:

Human-centered by design: Insights are used to inform, not replace, strategic thinking.
Governed and ethical: Built with bias awareness, transparency, and quality control. Brandience was one of the first agencies to be AI Advertising Ethics Certified.
Integrated into real work: Informed by how strategy, creative, and media decisions are made.
Outcome-focused: Our team partners closely with you to shape the research brief, interpret results, and translate insights into clear strategic and creative direction so the work leads to decisions, not just data.

What role does synthetic research play in the overallstrategy process?

Synthetic research allows us and our clients to move forward informed by audience insight, not assumptions. SMRT Study allows teams to:

Pressure-test thinking early
Identify promising directions quickly
Improve creative and strategic confidence
Allocate time and budget more efficiently

How is synthetic research different from traditional research?

Synthetic research and traditional research serve different and complementary purposes.

‍Traditional research provides nuance, emotional depth, and unexpected human insight.
‍Synthetic research delivers early directional clarity with speed, efficiency built on models intentionally trained to think and respond like people do. While the responses are synthetic, they often closely reflect real human perspectives.

We use each method intentionally, choosing the right mix based on what the challenge requires. When deeper validation, lived experience, or emotional complexity is needed, traditional research remains the right tool.

When is synthetic research the right fit?

Synthetic research is especially valuable when:
Speed matters
Budgets need to be protected early
Audiences are hard to reach
Directional guidance is sufficient
Teams need clarity before committing further

What makes Brandience’s synthetic research capability different?

What sets Brandience apart is how and why we use synthetic research:
‍
‍Human-centered by design: Insights are used to inform, not replace, strategic thinking.
‍Governed and ethical: Built with bias awareness, transparency, and quality control. Brandience was one of the first agencies to be AI Advertising Ethics Certified.
‍Integrated into real work: Informed by how strategy, creative, and media decisions are made.
‍Outcome-focused: Our team partners closely with you to shape the research brief, interpret results, and translate insights into clear strategic and creative direction so the work leads to decisions, not just data.

Other capabilities

Brandience is a Cincinnati-based brand and marketing agency that utilizes data to elevate our creativity and activate your ad investments in the best ways possible. All our disciplines -- from brand strategy, creative and advertising to media, social media and digital -- have data analytics as a core underpinning.

That enables us to focus our energy on the brand truths that mean the most to consumers. Creating and executing strategies that move your customers.

Programmatic Media

Media Planning and Buying