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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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China Hour Expands Reach of Chinese Audiovisual Content in South Africa Through Multi-Platform Partnership

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September 5, 2026

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NANJING, China, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — “China Hour,” a year-round media initiative jointly operated by Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), is significantly expanding the footprint and accessibility of Chinese audiovisual content across South Africa.

Marking the first time a Chinese broadcast media institution has established a year-round, dedicated daily broadcast mechanism with an African national public broadcaster, the project leverages SABC’s television network and digital streaming platform, SABC+, bringing over 100 hours of localized Chinese programming directly to South African households since its launch in June 2026.

The initiative first gained momentum in April 2026, when senior SABC leadership attended the 13th China Internet Audio & Video Convention and officially announced the joint project with JSBC. To solidify and expand upon these initial results, JSBC and SABC formally signed a new cooperation agreement on August at the 7th Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation in Beijing. The signing was witnessed by senior leadership from China’s National Radio and Television Administration and South Africa’s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies.

So far, China Hour has already achieved rapid audience engagement. The popular fantasy drama series The Starry Love, which premiered on SABC2 on July in a dedicated 10:30–11:30 p.m. daily broadcast block, entered SABC+’s monthly Top 10 chart in its debut month, becoming the first Chinese television series to achieve a Top 10 ranking on the streaming platform.

Beyond hit drama series, the broader China Hour content catalog spans diverse genres designed to offer South African audiences holistic perspectives on contemporary and historical China. Featured titles include flagship documentary series such as The Grand Canal, Wetlands Our Land, Reading on the Island, and Architecture China, as well as popular short-form productions including A Dream Like True Love and Wildfire, among others.

To streamline content adaptation, JSBC deployed its proprietary Lychee Media AI Module for automated multilingual translation and dubbing adaptation. Integrated with rigorous human editorial review, this hybrid workflow enhances production efficiency while ensuring content complies strictly with local language nuances, cultural contexts, and broadcasting regulations.

The project builds on more than a decade of strategic exchanges between JSBC and African media organizations, including active participation in regional markets. Continuing its commitment to industry collaboration, JSBC will once again co-organize the China Pavilion at MIP Africa in Cape Town this October, showcasing new intellectual properties and exploring cross-border content licensing opportunities.

Looking ahead, JSBC and SABC plan to deepen cooperation across program curation, platform operations, and audience development, while welcoming broader collaboration with media stakeholders across the African continent.

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viaim Rise Receives Two 2026 IFA Innovation Awards; Indiegogo Campaign Launches September 8

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September 5, 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — viaim today announced that viaim Rise, its AI Agent Earbuds, won Best in Audio and was named a Best in Design Honoree at the 2026 IFA Innovation Awards. The recognition highlights Rise’s combination of acoustic engineering, AI-assisted work features and a distinctive smart charging case.

The recognition at IFA 2026, one of the world’s most significant technology trade shows, validates viaim’s unique vision for the future of work. Following this successful unveiling in Berlin, viaim has confirmed that the viaim Rise will be available for global consumers via a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, launching on September 8, 2026, at 9:00 AM ET.

Beyond Audio: Listen. Think. Act.

viaim Rise combines premium wireless earbuds with an AI Agent workflow designed for everyday work. Built around Listen. Think. Act., Rise helps users capture conversations they choose to record, understand them in context and prepare next steps that remain under the user’s control.

Engineered for the modern professional, Rise supports user-initiated recording, transcription and translation for phone calls, in-person meetings and multilingual conversations, covering 78 languages and 145 accents. The system’s breakthrough lies in its ability to connect these recordings directly to project context, surface actionable insights, and hand off tasks—by voice—to the AI platforms users already rely on after the user confirms, such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Award-Winning Hardware Meets Intelligent Software

The dual IFA Innovation Awards reflect the product’s commitment to both sonic excellence and functional design. The ‘Best in Audio’ win acknowledges the product’s premium acoustic architecture. The viaim Rise features a powerful 11mm + 6mm dual-driver configuration, delivering Hi-Res Audio Wireless with LDAC and LHDC support. Coupled with an advanced ANC system featuring transparency and voice pass-through modes, the earbuds ensure high-fidelity sound, while a comprehensive multi-microphone array with bone-conduction VPU guarantees crystal-clear call quality, regardless of the environment.

At the same time, Vision Intelligence officially announced a partnership with Bose, a world-leading audio brand. viaim is working with engineers from Bose’s Audio Technology business to enhance the audio performance of viaim products. Working with Bose, viaim will leverage the company’s decades of technical expertise in active noise cancellation and acoustics to improve AI Agent hardware and enable robust perception and decision-making capabilities.

The ‘Best in Design’ honor recognizes the product’s innovative form factor: a unique dual-device ecosystem. When users press the two side latches, a mechanical structure raises the earbuds from the charging case—a physical expression of the Rise name. The smart charging case also serves as a recording entry point: with at least one earbud inside, users can start a recording without opening the case or reaching for a phone. When connected to a computer over USB-C, its three-microphone array can support desktop meeting capture through the viaim PC app.

Indiegogo Launch Details

The viaim Rise will officially go live on Indiegogo on September 8 at 9 AM ET.

Super Early Bird Offer: Early backers can secure viaim Rise with a $259 pledge, compared with a planned MSRP of $399.Added Value: Every backer will receive a 3-month of the viaim Pro subscription for free, unlocking the complete potential of the AI Agent ecosystem.

“We are honored by the recognition from IFA,” said the viaim team. “Rise is built to move work forward. By merging professional-grade acoustic hardware with a sophisticated AI agent workflow, we are transforming the way professionals capture their ideas and execute their daily tasks.”

For those interested in experiencing the future of AI-powered productivity, join the Indiegogo campaign at https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/viaim/viaim-rise, or visit viaim’s official website at https://store.viaim.ai/ to learn more

About viaim

viaim develops AI-native hardware and intelligent agent services designed to help people capture information, understand context and move work forward. As of May 2026, viaim has served more than 1.5 million registered users across over 200 countries and regions worldwide.

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Bringing Local AI Home: UGREEN Introduces Privacy-First HomeAgent for Smarter Living

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September 5, 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — UGREEN, a leading global consumer technology brand, announced two new product lineups at a European launch event. The unveiling of the UGREENHomeAgent series of agentic local AI hubs and a new MagFlow lineup marks UGREEN’s next stage of growth. Building on its established presence in digital accessories and smart storage, the company is now dedicated to a broader spectrum of intelligent consumer electronics designed to enhance everyday life.

UGREEN HomeAgent: Agentic Local AI Hub for Homes

At the center of UGREEN’s broader intelligent consumer electronics vision is UGREEN HomeAgent, a groundbreaking Agentic AI Local Hub unifying local storage, computing, and control into one device. It connects a growing ecosystem of UGREEN AIoT devices, including security cameras, smart speakers, and smart photo frames, as well as third-party devices.

UGOS Pro is UGREEN’s in-house operating system built on a Linux architecture, offering professional storage management, robust data security, easy backup and sync, and extensive expandability.

UGREEN HomeAgent is powered by the all-new UGOS Pro, combining NAS-grade storage and data management with integrated home security features, smart home capabilities, and natural voice interaction to deliver a more complete all-in-one experience.

Traditional surveillance cameras usually only document bad news, and their footage is constantly overwritten, so the moments truly worth keeping quietly disappear. That’s why UGREEN set out to redefine the home camera system, not as a surveillance tool, but as a camera for life.

“HomeAgent proactively recognizes moments that are truly worth remembering and organizes them into a personalized daily briefing for every family. Moments that might otherwise be forgotten can return. We want to help families preserve the precious time they spend together.” – Samuel Zhang, CEO of UGREEN

As an agentic local AI hub integrating on-device intelligence, local storage, AI computing and smart-home control, HomeAgent serves as the AI brain of the connected home. Designed to keep data private and local, it enables intelligent file management, proactive home monitoring, voice-driven automation and unified device control. The ecosystem includes the HomeAgent HA100 and HA100 Pro, the NVIDIA® Jetson Thor™-powered MasterAgent MA100, SynCare smart cameras, the UGREEN Smart Speaker for Uliya, and UGREEN Gallery smart frames, while remaining compatible with third-party Matter-enabled devices. Together, they deliver a private, expandable AI platform that helps users preserve memories, monitor their homes and coordinate devices through natural, context-aware interactions.

MagFlow Pro: Active Heat Dissipation and Sustained Fast Charging

Announced alongside HomeAgent, MagFlow Powerbank is the world’s first liquid-cooled Qi2 25W magnetic power bank, featuring CryoPulse™ micro-pump liquid cooling, active heat dissipation and sustained fast charging.

The launch complements UGREEN’s strong range of charging options, outlining the brand’s commitment to true-rated performance and flagship-quality power.

Availability Timeline

Pre-orders for the UGREEN HomeAgent HA100, HA100 Pro and UGREEN MasterAgent MA100 opened on September 4, 2026, via the UGREEN AIoT Official Store, and remain available until the official Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launches on October 27, 2026. Other AIoT accessories will be introduced as part of the Kickstarter campaign beginning on October 27. During the pre-order period, customers can place a deposit starting at $50 to reserve the UGREEN HomeAgent HA100, HA100 Pro or UGREEN MasterAgent MA100 and secure 50% off with the Super Early Bird discount.

About UGREEN

UGREEN is a leading global tech brand creating innovative products that make everyday life smarter, easier, and more connected. From smart charging and productivity to smart storage and AIoT, UGREEN designs technology around the needs of modern life.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bringing-local-ai-home-ugreen-introduces-privacy-first-homeagent-for-smarter-living-302870674.html

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