Beyond the data: How Virtual Audiences are shaping the future of business analysts tracking data

Who are these “Virtual Audiences”?

Virtual Audiences are simulated user profiles built from real-world data and behavioural models. They behave like real consumers (complete with opinions, motivations, and cultural context) but are powered by AI. And, just as real people, they have varying opinions towards a subject depending on their ‘upbringing’ and belief system. Think of them as research participants you can interact with at any time.

You can interview them to:

• Explore attitudes and motivations

• Test hypotheses or messaging

• Clarify surprising results

• Compare across segments and cultures

• Pressure-test strategies and brand positioning

And the best part? This can all happen asynchronously, iteratively, and avoids the time consuming recruitment.

While Virtual Audiences are powerful for exploratory research and brand tracking, they also shine when used in a more reactive way. For instance, they can help explain unexpected changes in external data sources like Nielsen, YouGov, or Statista. With Virtual Audiences, you can explore what may be driving a sales spike, brand decline, or shifting perception. This makes them a valuable tool not just for CMI teams, but also for business analysts and commercial leads who need a fast, nuanced understanding of the numbers.

Why interacting with Virtual Audiences is a game-changer

Research answers a lot of questions, but just as often it raises new ones (as it should 😉).

We usually start with clear objectives: understanding pricing sensitivity, testing campaign messages, gauging market readiness, tracking brand perception. However, once the results are in and the debrief starts, clients inevitably ask more:

“Why did this segment respond that way?”
“What would happen if we shifted our positioning?”
“How does this vary by culture or age group?”

These are great questions, but they often fall outside the original scope. Traditionally, that meant going back into the field or acknowledging the limits of the dataset.

Now, we have another option: Virtual Audiences.

Our moderators are trained in how to interview Virtual Audiences (we’ve learned a lot from real-world projects and presentations at IIEX, MIE, and our own webinars), we use them to go beyond the initial study. Whether it’s clarifying an unexpected finding or exploring deeper segment dynamics, Virtual Audiences offer a grounded way to investigate what wasn’t asked up front.  

But that’s only one way to use them, though. Virtual Audiences can also be used as a standalone method to run entire research projects and answer full research questions from start to finish. They can deliver robust qualitative research across segments or markets, including niche or underrepresented audiences (provided there is sufficient data available to model them reliably).  

Whether used as a primary method or an agile extension, Virtual Audiences let us go beyond the metrics (percentages, rankings, preferences) to uncover the mindsets, emotions, and contextual factors that shaped and influenced the quantitative outcomes. It’s a powerful way to turn data into deeper insight, and insight into action.

Case in point: A beverage study across four markets

We recently partnered with an established FMCG company to explore how consumers perceive health, sustainability, and naturalness. The study spanned four countries and followed a classic quantitative design, with a representative sample and a clear hypothesis to validate.

As the data came in, new questions surfaced that couldn’t be fully answered through numbers alone. That’s when we introduced Virtual Audiences into the process, so we could:

• Dive deeper into segment-specific attitudes

• Understand why certain themes resonated differently by country

• Explore motivations, associations, and personal experiences behind the numbers

Rather than launching a traditional qualitative phase from scratch, we seamlessly shifted into qualitative mode using Virtual Audiences to uncover rich insights with more speed and flexibility.
For instance, when something looked odd in the data, we could interview relevant personas, and often the answer revealed a cultural nuance, generational mindset, or local market influence that hadn't been obvious before.

What made this especially powerful was the flexibility. We could:

• Revisit the same personas anytime: during analysis, after the presentation, or weeks later

• Ask new questions without re-recruitment  

• Target specific segments (by market, age, gender, or lifestyle) for deeper exploration

This allowed us to extend the value of the original research and turn a linear process into an iterative one.

What made Virtual Audiences so powerful in this client case:

• Go beyond the numbers – Understand the why behind behaviour via rigorous back and forths between the virtual audience and our moderator.

• Work iteratively – The research didn’t stop at the final report. We could keep refining insights.

• Maximize your data – The client got (and is still getting) much more value: the Return On Insight is significantly better.

• Improve decision-making – The added context gave the client more confidence in their strategy, helping them align internally and move forward decisively.

• Answer new questions instantly – After seeing the quantitative results, the client needed deeper answers fast. No time for traditional recruitment. Because Virtual Audiences were already set up and our moderator could jump in immediately, we delivered new insights within days.

With Virtual Audiences in place, research became a living process that adapted as the client’s questions evolved. It was responsive, insight-driven, and continued to deliver when it mattered most.

The bottom line: Deeper insights, smarter decisions

Virtual Audiences aren’t science fiction. They are a practical, powerful tool that helps us deliver richer, more flexible, and more human insights.

At Haystack, we see them as a natural extension of our research approach: a simple and seamless add-on that enhances existing studies rather than replacing them. Whether used alongside brand trackers, concept tests, or external data sources, Virtual Audiences bring deeper context and faster, more actionable learnings.

This hybrid way of working combines the strengths of traditional research with the depth of simulated consumer thinking. But as powerful as the technology is, human interpretation remains essential. At Haystack, our team is trained to moderate Virtual Audiences, guiding conversations, asking the right questions, and interpreting responses with strategic insight.  

If you're curious about how Virtual Audiences could enrich your next study, reach out. We’d love to show you what they can do.

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