10 May 2024 Video Persona

We refer to the virtual personalisation of research findings used to understand user needs and expectations based on common behaviours as a “persona.” Typically, we give the persona an identity by adding visuals that reflect its behaviour, profession, and character.

But what if, instead of interpreting the persona through visuals and written traits, the persona described itself? Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, creating video personas is now more feasible than ever.
Compared to traditional text-based persona reports, video personas may offer more advantages than we realise but let us explore some of the most obvious benefits:

More Effective Communication: Video enables more impactful communication with the target audience, going beyond the limitations of text-based formats. By incorporating visual and auditory elements, it helps stakeholders develop a deeper, more intuitive understanding of the persona.

Richer and More Vivid Presentation: Video allows for a more dynamic and engaging portrayal of a persona’s characteristics and behaviours. Elements such as animations, graphics, visuals, and sound effects bring the persona to life, making it more memorable and compelling.

Greater Clarity: Video can make complex or technical information easier to grasp. It helps create a clearer, more accessible view of the persona by combining visual representations with narrative flow. 

A More Humanised Experience: Video brings the persona to life emotionally, allowing us to better understand the user’s experience. For product or service owners, isn’t the real goal to connect with the user’s emotions and see the product from their perspective?

These advantages become even more powerful when video personas incorporate multiple viewpoints.  These viewpoints may involve  the customer’s perspective, the service provider’s experience, and a third-party observation of the service moment. For instance, while users can choose products and services that align with their goals, needs, and motivations, product owners  can craft more effective marketing and service strategies for their target audience. Meanwhile, an external observer can gain deeper insight into the company’s audience and strategic direction through the video persona. This supports more accurate and informed decision-making.

Now that we have outlined the general advantages of video personas, let us explore some practical methods for creating them:

Text-Based Persona Creation: Artificial intelligence can automatically generate persona profiles by analysing research outputs and user data. For instance, it can identify a persona’s demographic traits, needs, goals, and preferences by processing text-based sources such as customer feedback, qualitative interviews, and quantitative survey results. Once the profile is created, it can be transformed into video format. 

Image and Video Processing: Artificial intelligence can analyse and process data using image and video processing techniques. For instance, it can apply visual recognition and classification algorithms to automatically select or generate images and videos that align with a persona. By scanning visual materials derived from research outputs, artificial intelligence can identify or create visuals that accurately reflect the persona’s characteristics and lifestyle

Voice Synthesis: Artificial intelligence can apply voice synthesis (text-to-speech) techniques to convert text-based inputs into audio files. This allows for the narration of persona-related information in a natural, spoken format. By generating speech with varied tones and accents, artificial intelligence can produce more personalised and expressive voiceovers.  This makes the video persona more compelling and engaging.

Personalised Content Creation: Artificial intelligence can tailor video personas to specific demographic or behavioural groups. It can customise video content based on personal traits such as location, age, or interests. This helps us better understand the nuances of different user profiles. Brands can also use familiar faces like company ambassadors or celebrities as video personas to draw attention.

Still, it is important to remember that artificial intelligence requires human oversight  and tasks like selecting the right datasets, training the model, and reviewing or refining the results remain in our hands.

In the end, persona creation is an essential step for any company aiming to develop user-centered products and services. Companies that connect with users on a deeper level can gain a significant advantage, enhancing the overall user experience by bringing the persona closer to a “real person” through video.   The experience of the experience designer, meanwhile, is a topic in its own right. We are curious to hear your thoughts!
Do you agree with the advantages of video personas? Or do you believe text-based personas will remain effective for a longer time?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsXeZ8FQ8Fw