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Five Audience Research Methods That Outperform Personas in 2026: Soltaros OÜ Shares Findings

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Soltaros OÜ reports that static persona-building has lost much of its explanatory power in modern marketing — and outlines five research methods now outperforming personas across client engagements.

TALLINN, Estonia, June 5, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — For most of the past decade, persona-building was the default deliverable of audience research. Marketing teams commissioned segmentation studies, received three to five fictional buyer profiles, and used those profiles as a shared reference across creative and media planning. Based on Soltaros OÜ’s findings, this technique was no longer deemed valuable by 2026. Consumers had become segmented into multiple media, consumer behavior was no longer linked with demographics, and there had been a reduction in the time between research and campaign planning, which did not suit the use of personas.

Soltaros has tracked this change across various projects in several markets. However, the trend has proven consistent with poor strategic decision-making by those organizations that continue to base their efforts on personas versus those using behavior-driven techniques.

What the Data Shows

Soltaros OÜ’s observations point to five research methods now outperforming static personas across the engagements the company runs:

1. Behavioral cohort analysis. Audiences are grouped by what they actually do — first session length, return frequency, feature use — rather than by demographics. Soltaros tracks retention gaps of 30 to 50 percent between behavioral segments that appear identical on demographic grounds.

2. Intent-signal mapping. Search activity, consumption patterns, and interactions on a platform-specific level are analyzed to determine intent signals indicating that the audience is in motion, not just who comprises the audience.

3. Real-conversation mining. Language is extracted from support transcripts, community forums, and review platforms, giving creative teams the exact wording the audience uses rather than a sanitized persona quote.

4. Friction-observation studies. Frictions in user flows are observed rather than asking users why they did not complete a particular process. Behaviorally based frictions predict conversions better than self-reported frictions.

5. Cross-channel pattern tracking. The same cohort is analyzed across channels instead of analyzing each channel individually. Analysis on a cross-channel basis uncovers compounded behaviors that can’t be captured in channel-by-channel analysis.

Soltaros stresses that these methods are not replacements for one another. Used together, they produce a continuously updated picture of the audience that personas were never designed to deliver.

Why Behavior-Led Research Changes the Outcome

In behavior-based research, audience comprehension is seen as a continuous process rather than just a one-off activity. The difference between a poster hung on a wall and a dashboard that the team sees each week is made clear.

According to Soltaros OÜ, teams that retire persona deliverables in favor of behavior-led methods see measurable improvements across several dimensions:

Faster campaign decisions. Cohort and intent data are updated weekly; personas are not updated at all.Higher creative relevance. Real-conversation mining gives creative teams language that the audience already uses.More efficient media spend. Cross-channel tracking surfaces wasted overlap that single-channel reports cannot detect.Earlier detection of strategy drift. Friction studies surface mismatches between brand positioning and audience behavior before campaigns lock in.

Soltaros notes that the shift is not about discarding qualitative work. The Soltaros team treats qualitative interviews as a permanent input feeding the five methods above, rather than as the source of a static deliverable.

Soltaros OÜ’s Position on the Issue

Soltaros OÜ does not argue that personas have zero value. The Soltaros team recognizes that personas still serve a coordination role for very early-stage brands without behavioral data to draw on. What has changed is the place personas occupy in a mature strategy: a starting reference, not a finished deliverable.

According to the Pew Research Center, about half of American adults use either Facebook or YouTube daily, while 24% use TikTok daily. Furthermore, there is a marked age gradient for all three sites, creating a persona representation that becomes increasingly lost. In like manner, the 2025 flash poll of Edelman Trust Institute reveals that trust calibration with regard to brands and institutions is much more differentiated by behavior and context than by demographics. Both observations corroborate Soltaros’ position on how to address the challenge of client engagement.

Soltaros OÜ expects behavioral cohorts to replace demographic personas as the default reference object in marketing strategy over the next 12 to 24 months. The Soltaros team will continue to monitor how these methods perform across the markets in which it operates.

About Soltaros OÜ

Soltaros OÜ is an international marketing agency specializing in market research and content marketing for businesses across various countries. The company’s core areas of work are market research and analytics, content marketing and SEO, digital and strategic marketing, and localization and translation. Soltaros OÜ helps brands expand into new markets, understand their audiences, and drive engagement through.

Media Contact

Laurel Modes, Soltaros OÜ, 372 53687277, info@soltaros.com, https://www.soltaros.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/five-audience-research-methods-that-outperform-personas-in-2026-soltaros-ou-shares-findings-302791460.html

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Generations Ahead: Nocpix Teases Its Next-Generation Flagship Thermal Riflescope

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31 minutes ago

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September 5, 2026

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WARSAW, Poland, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nocpix, a developer of advanced outdoor electro-optical imaging technology, has teased the next generation of its flagship thermal riflescope. Built around the needs of serious hunters, the new generation is set to take Nocpix’s approach to thermal imaging, precision, and field performance further.

Designed for professional hunters, Nocpix’s flagship thermal riflescope platform brings together Nocpix-developed thermal sensors, high-performance optics, and Ocular Zoom within a traditional tube-style riflescope platform, while select models also integrate laser rangefinding and ballistic calculation. From its first generation onward, the series has continued to evolve, driven by one goal — helping hunters see more clearly, make more confident decisions and stay focused on the hunt.

When Specifications Keep Rising, What Comes Next?

In recent years, premium thermal riflescopes have continued to push the boundaries of resolution, sensitivity, detection range and magnification. But as core specifications continue to improve, the questions that matter to hunters are changing: How much detail remains when zooming in? Can imaging and ranging stay reliable in challenging weather? And can hunters move from detecting a target to getting useful information faster and more directly?

The next stage of competition is about more than numbers on a specification sheet.

Turning Technology into Real-World Experience

Nocpix has established a clear direction for its flagship thermal riflescopes: advancing sensing, optics, and viewing while focusing more on how these technologies come together in real-world field use.

With Nocpix-developed thermal sensors, Reality+ imaging, Ocular Zoom, and select-model ranging and ballistic features, it brings key technologies together as one system.

For Nocpix, being “Ahead” is not about bigger numbers, but about turning technology into real improvements hunters can experience in the field.

Where Should the Next Generation Be Ahead?

The next-generation thermal riflescope will continue to push core performance forward — from thermal sensitivity, image detail and higher-magnification performance to more reliable ranging in challenging conditions.

But performance is only part of the story. The next-generation product is being developed around a bigger question: how can technology help hunters see more, make decisions faster, and stay focused on the hunt?

Nocpix has already taken one step ahead. Now, Nocpix is taking the next.

More will be revealed soon.

Generations Ahead.

For further information:
Nocpix Marketing Department
Email: info@nocpix.com
Website: www.nocpix.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/generations-ahead-nocpix-teases-its-next-generation-flagship-thermal-riflescope-302870632.html

SOURCE Nocpix

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PrimeBOT Wins Official IFA Innovation Awards as Personal Robotics Moves Closer to the Home

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September 5, 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PrimeBOT made a high-impact debut at IFA 2026, earning official recognition for both PrimeBOT T1 and PrimeBOT Q1 while drawing strong interest from international news outlets, industry professionals, creators, and visitors across Messe Berlin and ShowStoppers.

PrimeBOT T1 was named the winner of the IFA Innovation Award for Content Creation Technology, while PrimeBOT Q1 was selected as an IFA NEXT Honoree.

The IFA Innovation Awards are IFA Berlin’s official awards program, recognizing standout innovation at one of the world’s largest consumer tech events. The on-stage recognition highlighted two complementary directions in PrimeBOT’s personal robotics strategy: T1’s transformable, cross-scenario approach to mobility and creative use, and Q1’s emphasis on personalized interaction, programmability, movement, and long-term companionship.

The awards were matched by strong engagement throughout the show. Much of it focused on what it would feel like to live with a personal robot. Media participants walked alongside Q1, tested balancing responses, and interacted almost like they would with a child. T1’s transformation process drew immediate attention across the show floor, while its reactions to touch and head pats made the experience intimate and personal.

That response reinforced one of PrimeBOT’s central ideas: the next breakthrough in consumer robotics will not come from another single-purpose machine, but from robots capable of becoming part of everyday family life.

PrimeBOT International Market CMO Yuan Zou expanded on that idea as a speaker during the IFA Dream Stage panel “Robots in the Kitchen and Home: From Task-Specific Tools to Humanoids,” alongside Dr. Glenn Mathijssen of Circus Group, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy of The Verge, Raghav Gupta of Posha, and Michael Wolf of The Spoon.

“For decades, we have judged robots by an industrial standard: how much work can they replace? But the home operates under a different value system,” said Yuan Zou. “A personal robot doesn’t have to do everything on day one, but it has to create value. That can begin with interaction, companionship, learning, and creativity, then deepen as the robot better understands the user and the home, and eventually expands into more meaningful physical assistance. Before a robot can become truly useful in the home, it first has to earn its place there.”

PrimeBOT will continue live demonstrations throughout IFA 2026 at Booth H25-150. Media, partners, and attendees are invited to experience PrimeBOT T1 and PrimeBOT Q1 in person.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/primebot-wins-official-ifa-innovation-awards-as-personal-robotics-moves-closer-to-the-home-302870634.html

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Tuya Smart Unveils Doova at IFA 2026, an AI Home Companion Robot Designed to Support Independently Living Seniors

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2 hours ago

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September 5, 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tuya Smart (NYSE: TUYA; HKEX: 2391), a global AI cloud platform service provider, today unveiled Doova, its new AI home companion robot, at IFA 2026. Designed for seniors living alone, Doova moves beyond the traditional roles of security devices and household robots, combining proactive safety protection, emotionally intelligent companionship, and seamless smart home coordination to support a safer, more connected, and more comfortable daily life.

For many seniors living independently, the greatest concern is not simply an accident itself, but the time that passes before anyone realizes something is wrong.

Doova is equipped with LDS LiDAR, a four-microphone sound source localization system, and AI vision-based skeletal recognition algorithms. If a user falls or encounters another emergency, they can call out, “Hey Tuya, help,” and Doova will quickly locate the user, move to their side, and assess the situation in real time.

If no response is detected within 60 seconds, Doova automatically initiates an emergency response workflow, sending a two-way live video call alert to family members so assistance can be arranged without delay.

An AI Companion for Everyday Life

Doova combines emotional companionship, daily assistance, and wellness support in a single AI-powered home companion designed specifically for older adults. Its conversational ability is powered by a multimodal large language model, allowing it to hold natural, free-flowing conversations rather than respond only to fixed commands.

During quiet moments at home, Doova can hold conversations, offer company, and play entertainment content to ease feelings of loneliness. In day-to-day life, it can help interpret complex bills and letters, identify potential scam risks, and guide users through operating smart appliances. For health and routine management, Doova can provide reminders for medication, weather updates, and schedules, while also engaging users with light interactive games.

Over time, Doova learns user preferences and becomes more personally helpful in everyday areas such as meal suggestions, gardening advice, and outfit recommendations. In the future, Tuya also plans to introduce value-added services including autonomous item-finding throughout the home, helping reduce anxiety around misplaced belongings.

Smarter In-Home Monitoring for Greater Peace of Mind

When users are away from home, Doova helps make home monitoring simpler and less intrusive.

Unlike conventional patrol-style security devices that follow walls in fixed routes and can feel like overt surveillance, Doova uses a node-oriented coverage strategy designed around the center of each room. It can move from space to space on a dual-wheel drive with caster wheels, perform a 360-degree scan at each location, and automatically generate a safety report that is delivered to the user’s mobile phone, making it easier to stay informed about conditions throughout the home from anywhere. Doova also supports autonomous docking and recharging, so monitoring continues without day-to-day intervention.

A Gentle Smart Home Hub Built for Daily Living

Powered by Tuya’s mature AIoT ecosystem, Doova also serves as a central smart home control hub. With simple voice commands, users can coordinate connected devices across the home, including lighting, curtains, kitchen appliances, and bathroom devices, without complicated setup or operations, lowering the barrier to smart living for seniors.

Doova is also designed to feel like a natural part of the household rather than a piece of equipment. Its soft, curved form moves away from the cold, mechanical look often associated with robots, allowing it to blend more naturally into living spaces. The device height is optimized for interaction whether a user is standing, seated, or reclining, while a 10.1-inch high-definition display and dynamic facial expressions make conversations feel warmer and more engaging.

Doova has drawn strong interest from attendees at IFA 2026, reflecting growing demand for AI solutions that support independent living. With Doova, Tuya continues to extend its AI+IoT ecosystem into new areas of daily life, bringing safety, companionship, and connected living together for seniors who choose to age independently.

About Tuya Smart

Tuya Inc. (NYSE: TUYA; HKEX: 2391) is a leading global AI cloud platform service provider dedicated to bringing AI into everyday life. Through its TuyaOpen open-source development framework and universal AI Agent engines, including the AI Agent development platform, Tuya integrates multimodal AI capabilities to lower barriers for AI development, efficiently advancing the realization of AI-driven lifestyles and accelerating AI integration with the physical world. Tuya offers innovative physical AI solutions for smart devices, commercial applications, and industry developers through its cloud computing and spatial intelligence capabilities. It also provides a complete, open, and neutral global AIoT ecosystem.

As of June 30, 2026, the Tuya AI Developer Platform had over 2,092,000 registered AI developers from more than 200 countries and regions.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tuya-smart-unveils-doova-at-ifa-2026-an-ai-home-companion-robot-designed-to-support-independently-living-seniors-302870623.html

SOURCE Tuya Smart

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