To more effectively communicate to the diverse audiences, communicators should understand their audiences through demographics, psychographics, and media consumption preferences. One possible way to combine audience information into a usable format is the creation of audience personas. Personas can be used to clearly define target audiences and their characteristics, which will help communicators tailor information to the audiences’ needs and expectations.

1. Communicatingto Diverse
Audiences:PersonaDevelopment
Megan Homeyer, Billy McKim, & Holli Leggette
Texas A&M University

2. The Problem?
 There is a communication gap between the growing adult
population and the shrinking agriculture population.
 82.7% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas (Worldometers,
2016)
 Most Americans are at least one or more generations removed
from the farm or ranch (Dimitri, Effland, & Conklin, 2005).

3.  Agriculture sometimes uses the “hypodermic needle” model of
communicating (Evans, 1985) that injects information one
direction.
 This is not effective
 What is a better way of communicating?
The Problem?

4. TheSolution?
• Create a “person” that represents a
group of people
• Allows communicators to create
messages for specific groups
• Are a way to tailor information to
targeted audiences
• Learn how to speak their language
(start out on the same page)
Personas

5. TheSolution?
• Emphasizes the unique individuals you
are trying to connect to
• Help focus and aid communication
• Provide empathy and a human element
to the design stage

6. TheSolution?
 Personas need to be:
 Life-like
 Consistent
 Representative
 Data-driven

7. Persona Lifecycle
Adlin & Pruitt, 2010
Family Planning
•Development of
research idea
Gestation
•Creation &
development of
personas
Birth and Maturation
•Introduction
of personas
Adulthood
•Personas
are active
and utilized
Retirement
•Evaluate
usefulness of
personas

8.  Create a team
 Identify goals
 What do you want your persona(s) to accomplish?
 Improve the process of team communication
 Improve communication to audiences
 Improve organization
Family Planning

9.  Create an action plan
 Define scope of project
 Data
 Existing (internal and external)
 Original
 Secondary
 Stay organized
Family Planning

10. Family Planning
Description Date Source Incorporated?
Primary Interview 2/02/16 Resp_001 Yes
Questionnaire 4/18/16 Resp_004 Yes
Existing perspectives of
agriculture
5/22/14 Tegan, et al.,
2014
Yes

11. Gestation
1.What are existing stereotypes?
 Helps structure data processing
 Builds bridge between what is currently thought and created
personas
2. Process data
 Identify themes
Gestation

12.  Different methods of collecting data for creation of personas:
 Ad Hoc
 In-depth interviews
 Surveys
 Q Sort
 Combination
Gestation
Gestation

13. 3. Create initial persona
 Brief
4.Validate
Gestation
Gestation

14.  Create communication strategy
 Introduction of the persona
 Implement and continue to develop
Birth and Maturation

15.  Personas are being used
 Educating team on how to utilize the personas
 Keep planning, designing, and evaluating
Adulthood

16.  Measure effectiveness
 Are the data still accurate?
 Either continue with current personas or transition to a new
project
 Retire the personas
Retirement

17. What goes into a persona?

18. Thoughts
Beliefs
Opinions
Attitudes
Gender
YOB
Race
Income
Education Level
Content
Medium
Times
Access
Psychographics
Psychographics
Demographics
Demographics
Media Consumption
Media Consumption

19. Personas
Psychographics
Psychographics
Demographics
Demographics
Media Consumption
Media Consumption

21. Example
Psychographics
Psychographics
Demographics
Demographics
Media Consumption
Media
Consumption
(Mobly, 2016)

22.  No definite stance on animal use or animal rights
 Can be found on Facebook orYouTube
 Familiar with the web
 Easily influenced
The Follower

23.  Has a love for animals, but are not animal activists
 Believe the food industry requires improvement
 Use the internet andYouTube
 Familiar with Facebook, but does not access frequently
 Listens to radio daily
Compassionate
Information
Seeker

24. TheVisual
Learner
 Likes images (Instagram) [Survey]
 Does not like newspapers or magazines [Survey]
 Supports animal agriculture, but more for food than rodeo [Q Sort]

25. The Follower
•Unsure of stance on animal use and/or animal rights
Mobly, 2016
•Target on Facebook orYouTube
•Increase engagement with
videos

26. Compassionate
Information Seeker
Mobly, 2016
• Cares for animals, but not
activist
•Most familiar withYouTube and Web
• Food industry needs
improvement
• Alternative platform is Facebook

27. TheVisual Learner
•Target on Instagram or
other image-heavy platforms
• Do not try to engage through
paper-based platforms
✔ • Positive attitude toward animal
use and consumption
• Undecided on the use of animals
for entertainment
Mobly, 2016

28. Family Planning RetirementAdulthoodBirth and MaturationGestation
The Next Step

29. Initial Personas
Traditionalist
Organic
Believer
Opinionated
Learner
Health
Conscious
Indifferent
Traditionalist
?

30. Psychographics
Psychographics
Demographics
Demographics
Media Consumption
Media Consumption

31. Traditionalist
Organic
Believer
Opinionated
Learner
Health
Conscious
Indifferent
Traditionalist
Unaware
Easily
Influenced

32. Family Planning RetirementAdulthoodBirth and MaturationGestation
Future Research

33. Some things to
remember
 Personas are a means to an end, notTHE end
 Can be a useful tool, but not infallible
 Numerous methods to create personas
 Time consuming

34. Let’s talk
Megan Homeyer
mhomeyer14@tamu.edu