7 Reasons to Use Synthetic Audiences for Smarter CTV Advertising

1. Introduction: CTV’s Identity Crisis

As Connected TV (CTV) cements its place in the modern media mix, brands are facing an unexpected challenge: the traditional ways of identifying and targeting audiences are quickly becoming obsolete. For years, advertisers relied on Personally Identifiable Information (PII), like email addresses or device IDs, to define their audiences. These identifiers, while once powerful for direct-response advertising, are falling short in an environment where storytelling and emotional relevance matter more than ever.

The result? Brands are reaching people, but not necessarily connecting with them.

2. Why Traditional Targeting Is Losing Relevance

At its core, traditional targeting focuses on who someone is, age, gender, income, or browsing history. But it fails to answer a more important question: why does someone respond to an ad?

This method lacks visibility into:

• Emotional responses to tone, voice, or music
• Visual elements that spark attention or recall
• Behavioral patterns that shape engagement

Add to that the tightening grip of privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and the deprecation of third-party cookies, and it becomes clear, brands need a new way to understand and engage their audiences.

Hear more about this in our podcast with Myles Younger.

3. What Are Synthetic Audiences?

Synthetic audiences are not defined by who someone is, but how groups of people behave in response to creative inputs. These are data-driven personas generated from creative performance metrics, contextual signals, and behavioral insights, not from individual identities.

Instead of relying on persistent identifiers, synthetic audiences are modeled on real-world response patterns at scale.

They allow brands to:

• Target based on emotional resonance, not just demographics
• Test creative ideas against modeled audience personas before launch
• Adapt messaging with greater creative alignment across segments

This approach doesn’t replace traditional targeting, it adds a layer of behavioral intelligence that today’s CTV ecosystem desperately needs.

4. How Synthetic Audiences Improve Creative Strategy

Creative testing and iteration have historically been underfunded or underutilized. But in a CTV-first world, every creative decision, from casting to color grading, can influence outcomes.

Synthetic audiences make it possible to optimize creative before a campaign ever launches. They allow brands to simulate audience reactions using real behavioral signals, bringing emotional alignment to the forefront of media planning.

Key Benefits:

• Emotionally Aligned Messaging: Understand what emotional tones work for each persona.
• Pre-Launch Creative Testing: Predict how different audience segments will respond.
• Creative Iteration Loops: Rapidly test and refine messaging across personas.

By using synthetic audiences, brands no longer have to guess whether a spot will resonate, they can know.

5. Why Synthetic Audiences Are Critical for CTV

CTV is a storytelling platform. Viewers engage with CTV content differently than they do with search or social. This makes every detail of a creative asset more consequential.

• A change in voiceover can impact brand recall
• A slower pacing can improve emotional retention
• Even background music can shift perception of brand tone

Synthetic audiences give brands the ability to evaluate these subtle yet powerful elements at a persona level.

6. Real-World Momentum: Lessons from TVOT NYC

At the TV of Tomorrow (TVOT) Show in New York, AdSkate’s cofounder and CEO joined a panel exploring the evolving landscape of audience modeling. One key theme: synthetic audiences are not here to replace identity, they’re here to contextualize it.

Speakers emphasized that behavioral insights and emotional data are now just as important as demographic data. And in many cases, they outperform traditional targeting in driving creative impact.

The takeaway? Creative relevance is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Check out the full LinkedIn post here.

7. The Big Takeaway: Emotional Precision Is the New Performance Metric

Today’s most effective campaigns don’t just reach people, they resonate with them. Synthetic audiences are the bridge between emotional insight and creative execution.

They empower brands to:

• Build data-informed stories with emotional depth
• Validate creative decisions before spending media dollars
• Adapt in real time based on audience-level signals

This is not about replacing human intuition, it’s about enhancing it with better signals. In a visually driven, emotionally nuanced channel like CTV, this precision is no longer optional.

Ready to Rethink Your Audience Strategy?

If your brand is still relying solely on demographic targeting or identity-based identifiers, it may be time to evolve.

Synthetic audiences offer a new way forward, one that respects privacy, adapts to regulatory shifts, and puts creative at the center of performance.

Want to learn how your next CTV campaign could benefit from synthetic audience testing?

Start here.