What it is

A structured one-page profile for a single audience segment – completed before briefing a campaign, drafting a stakeholder communication, or planning media outreach. It captures who this audience is, what they need from your communication, what will make them tune out, and what will make them act.

This is not a community persona tool. It is not a marketing buyer profile. It is a practical pre-work document for communications professionals who need to understand their audience before they start writing – and who want that understanding to be specific enough to actually change what they produce.

One profile per distinct audience segment. If your communication serves three different audiences, build three profiles.

When to use it

Use when:

You are briefing a campaign and need to define who it is actually for
You are preparing a stakeholder communication and want to test assumptions about how it will land
You are developing messaging for a new audience your organisation hasn’t communicated with before
Your team disagrees about what a particular audience needs – this document surfaces those disagreements before they become problems
You are handing a brief to an agency or freelancer and want to give them a usable audience reference

Don’t use when:

You are communicating with a single, well-known individual (use a stakeholder briefing instead)
The audience is genuinely internal and well-understood by everyone on the team
You are under time pressure and have communicated with this audience before – a quick refresh of an existing profile is faster than starting again
You need a quantitative segmentation model – this is qualitative and judgement-led

Inputs needed

Before starting, gather:

Existing research: Any surveys, interviews, analytics, feedback, or previous campaign results for this audience
A specific communication in mind: This profile works best when tied to something concrete – a campaign, an announcement, a pitch. Avoid building a generic profile for “all customers.”
One or two people who know this audience well: Even a 15-minute conversation with a colleague who has direct audience contact is more valuable than guesswork
Previous communications: What has been sent to this audience before? What performed well? What didn’t?
Any audience data you have: Job titles, seniority, sector, organisation size – whatever is available

The template

Section 1: Profile Header

Complete this first. If you can’t fill it in clearly, the profile isn’t specific enough yet.

Audience name (a short, memorable label for internal reference):

[e.g. "Mid-level in-house comms manager" | "FTSE 250 board director" | "Charity sector press contact"]

One-sentence description:

[Who they are, in plain language. Role + context + relationship to this communication.]

Example: “A head of communications at a UK membership body, managing a small team, responsible for member engagement and external PR, receiving our proposal for the first time.”

Role and seniority:

Job title range: [e.g. Communications Manager to Director of Comms] Seniority: [Junior / Mid-level / Senior / Executive / Board] Reports to: [e.g. CEO / CMO / COO]

Organisation type:

[e.g. FTSE 250 corporate / public sector / NGO / professional services / startup / agency]

Their relationship to your organisation:

[First contact / Existing relationship / Warm lead / Sceptic / Advocate]

This profile is for (name the specific communication):

[e.g. "Campaign launch email" | "Board briefing on AI policy" | "Media pitch for funding announcement"]

Section 2: Decision-Making Context

What is this person managing when they receive your communication? Understanding their context prevents you from sending the right message at the wrong moment.

What is on their plate right now?

List 3–4 things this audience is likely dealing with professionally at the time they receive this communication. Be specific to their role and the current environment – not generic pressures.

[e.g. Preparing annual report]

[e.g. Managing a reputational issue]

[e.g. Budget cycle – under pressure to cut spend]

[e.g. New CEO in post – everything under review]

How much time do they have for this communication?

[e.g. "30 seconds to decide whether to open it / read it / act on it" | "Will read carefully if it reaches their desk" | "Will forward to a junior colleague first"]

Who else influences their decision?

[e.g. "CEO must sign off" | "Legal reviews all external comms" | "Peer group is a strong reference – what are others doing?"]

Where are they in the decision cycle?

[Not aware → Aware → Interested → Evaluating → Ready to act → Already committed]

This audience is at: [STAGE]

Section 3: What They Need From This Communication

Not what you want to say – what they need to receive. These are often different.

Primary need (one thing – if you have more than one, prioritise):

[e.g. Reassurance that this is credible and low-risk | A clear reason why this is relevant to them now | Evidence that others like them are doing this | Permission to act]

Secondary needs (2–3 additional things that will help the communication land):

[NEED]

[NEED]

[NEED]

The question this communication must answer (even if they don’t ask it directly):

[e.g. "Why should I trust this?" | "What does this mean for me specifically?" | "What do I need to do and when?" | "What happens if I ignore this?"]

What success looks like for them (not for you):

[What outcome would this person consider a win? Be specific. "They feel informed" is not specific. "They have a clear recommendation to take to their board" is.]

Section 4: What Will Make Them Tune Out

Every audience has instinctive filters. Knowing what triggers them saves you from writing something technically correct that still fails.

What they distrust (claims, formats, tones, or sources that immediately reduce credibility):

[e.g. Superlatives without evidence]

[e.g. Communications that don't acknowledge the complexity of their situation]

[e.g. Generic templates that clearly haven't been personalised]

[e.g. Long preambles before the point]

What they have heard too many times:

[The message, angle, or framing that has become wallpaper for this audience – they have stopped hearing it.]

Example: “Board-level comms audiences have heard ‘AI is transforming communications’ so many times it no longer registers as a reason to act.”

What signals that this isn’t for them:

[The specific thing that tells this audience this communication was not written with them in mind – wrong language, wrong assumed context, wrong channel, wrong seniority level.]

What would make them actively push back:

[Not just tune out – actively object, share negatively, or disengage from the relationship. What is the line?]

Section 5: What Will Make Them Pay Attention and Act

The positive version of Section 4. Be specific – “interesting content” is not useful here.

What earns their attention in the first 10 seconds:

[The specific signal – format, sender, subject line, opening line, visual element – that makes this audience stop and read.]

What makes them trust the source:

[Evidence of credibility that matters to this audience specifically. Credentials that impress one audience are irrelevant to another.]

[e.g. Named client or case study they recognise]

[e.g. Data from a source they respect]

[e.g. Direct referral from someone in their network]

What motivates them to act (the specific trigger, not the general aspiration):

[e.g. "Fear of being behind peers" | "A clear, low-effort first step" | "A deadline that is credible" | "Proof that someone like them has already done this"]

What format works best for them:

Length: [e.g. Under 200 words | One page maximum | Long-form if evidence-heavy] Format: [e.g. Bullet points | Narrative | Data-led | Visual | Conversational] Channel: [e.g. Email | LinkedIn DM | Printed document | In-person | Warm introduction] Tone: [e.g. Peer-to-peer | Expert advisory | Formal briefing | Informal conversation]

Section 6: What Will Land Badly If You Get It Wrong

The highest-risk assumptions. These are the things worth testing before you send.

Assumptions you are making about this audience that could be wrong:

[ASSUMPTION]

[ASSUMPTION]

[ASSUMPTION]

The biggest gap between what you want to say and what they need to hear:

[Be honest about this. If your key message is "we are the best option" and their primary question is "can I trust this organisation at all yet", the gap is wide.]

Cultural or contextual sensitivities:

[e.g. UK audience – avoid Americanisms | Sector going through redundancies – avoid "exciting times" | Audience that experienced a broken promise from your organisation – lead with accountability]

The thing you are tempted to include that you should probably cut:

[Almost every communication has something that serves the sender more than the recipient. Name it here so you can make a deliberate choice about whether it earns its place.]

Section 7: Pressure-Test Checklist

Ask these before you brief, write, or send. If you can’t answer yes to most of them, the communication is not ready.

Would this audience read past the first sentence? If not, rewrite the opening.
Does the communication answer their most important question, even if they didn’t ask it?
Is it free of the language and framing that makes this audience tune out? (check Section 4)
Could someone forward this to a colleague and have it make sense without explanation?
Does the format match how this audience actually consumes information?
Have you asked someone who knows this audience to read it before it goes?
Is the ask clear, specific, and proportionate to the relationship?
If this lands badly, do you know why and can you respond?

AI prompt

Base prompt

You are helping build a communications audience profile for the following communication:

Communication: [DESCRIBE WHAT IS BEING SENT / PITCHED / PUBLISHED]
Audience: [JOB TITLE, SENIORITY, SECTOR]
Organisation type: [TYPE OF ORGANISATION THEY WORK IN]
Relationship to us: [FIRST CONTACT / EXISTING / WARM / SCEPTIC]
What we know about them already: [PASTE ANY RESEARCH, DATA, QUOTES, OR OBSERVATIONS]

Complete the following sections for this audience:

1. One-sentence description of this audience
2. Three things they are likely dealing with professionally right now
3. The primary need this communication must meet for them
4. The one question this communication must answer even if they don't ask it
5. Three things that will make them tune out or lose trust
6. The specific trigger that will make them pay attention in the first 10 seconds
7. The format and tone that works best for them
8. The biggest gap between what we want to say and what they need to hear
9. Three assumptions we might be making that could be wrong

Be specific throughout. Do not give generic audience descriptions. If you need more information to be specific, ask for it.

Prompt variations

Variation 1: Rapid profile from a job title

Build a quick audience profile for a [JOB TITLE] at a [ORGANISATION TYPE] in the [SECTOR] sector. They are [SENIORITY LEVEL] and will be receiving [BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMMUNICATION] for the first time. Cover: what they are likely managing right now, what they need from this communication, what will make them distrust it, and what format works best for them. Be specific to this role – not generic professional advice.

Variation 2: Profile comparison – two audiences

I am communicating the same message to two different audiences: [AUDIENCE A] and [AUDIENCE B]. The message is: [CORE MESSAGE].

For each audience, identify:
- What they need to hear (which may differ from the message)
- What will make them trust or distrust it
- What format works for them
- The key adaptation needed to serve them both

Where the message needs to change significantly by audience, say so.

Variation 3: Profile based on previous campaign data

We have communicated with this audience before. Here is what we know:
- Previous communication: [DESCRIBE]
- What worked: [RESULTS OR OBSERVATIONS]
- What didn't work: [RESULTS OR OBSERVATIONS]
- Feedback received: [QUOTES OR SUMMARY]

Build an audience profile based on this data. Where the data suggests we have been making wrong assumptions, flag them clearly. Recommend three specific changes to how we approach this audience next time.

Variation 4: Pressure-test an existing brief

Here is a communication brief / draft: [PASTE BRIEF OR DRAFT]
The intended audience is: [DESCRIBE AUDIENCE]

Review this against the audience. Identify:
1. The three biggest mismatches between what this communication says and what this audience needs
2. The language or framing that will make this audience tune out
3. The question this communication should answer but currently doesn't
4. One specific rewrite recommendation for the opening

Be direct. Do not soften the feedback.

Human review checklist

Profile is for one audience: If you are tempted to describe multiple different people, split into separate profiles
The one-sentence description is specific: “Senior communications professional” is not specific. “Head of Comms at a UK professional services firm, managing a team of four, receiving this pitch for the first time” is.
Section 3 answers what they need, not what you want to say: Re-read it from their perspective – is this genuinely about them?
Section 4 is honest: If the “tune out” section is empty or vague, you haven’t thought hard enough about what could go wrong
The pressure-test questions have been answered: Not just ticked – actually answered
Someone who knows this audience has reviewed it: Profile built from assumptions alone is the most common failure mode
It is tied to a specific communication: A generic audience profile is less useful than one built for a particular campaign, pitch, or moment
UK English and sector language throughout: Does the profile use the language this audience actually uses, or the language your organisation uses internally?
The “what will land badly” section is completed honestly: This is the section most likely to be skipped – it is the most important
The profile is short enough to actually reference: If it runs to more than two pages, it will not be used in the room where decisions happen

Example output

Example profile – media pitch audience

Audience name: Technology correspondent, national UK press

One-sentence description: A staff journalist covering AI and technology for a UK national, receiving dozens of unsolicited pitches daily, sceptical of PR-speak, and protective of their time and credibility with sources.

Role: Technology reporter / correspondent Seniority: Mid-level (3–8 years in post) Organisation: National newspaper or digital-native news outlet

This profile is for: A media pitch for a research report on AI adoption in UK communications teams

What they are managing right now:

A story quota – filing two to four pieces per week under deadline pressure
A pitch inbox that receives 50–100 unsolicited emails per day
Reader trust – their reputation depends on not being seen as a conduit for PR
An editor asking for stories that are specific, data-led, and not already covered elsewhere

How much time they have: Approximately five seconds to decide whether to open the email; 30 seconds to decide whether to reply.

Primary need: A story their readers haven’t seen before, supported by credible data, that they can file in time for a relevant news cycle.

The question this communication must answer: “Is this actually news, or is this a company wanting coverage?”

What will make them tune out:

Opening with the organisation name or “we are pleased to share”
Claiming the research is “ground-breaking” or “first of its kind” without evidence
A press release attached to an email rather than a concise pitch in the body
No specific data point in the first two sentences

What they have heard too many times: “AI is transforming [sector].”

What signals this isn’t for them: Generic pitch clearly sent to a mailing list, not written for their specific beat.

What earns attention in 10 seconds: A specific, surprising data point in the subject line or first sentence – one they haven’t seen before.

What builds trust: Named methodology, credible sample size, willingness to share data before they commit to the story, a spokesperson who will go on record.

What motivates action: A story no one else has yet; a tight turnaround that fits their schedule; a direct offer they can respond to in one line.

Format: Under 150 words in the email body. Data point first. One offer. Direct phone number.

Biggest gap: We want to say “Faur has published important research.” They need to hear “here is a specific, surprising finding about UK communications teams that your readers haven’t seen.”

The thing we are tempted to include that we should cut: Background on Faur’s history and credentials in paragraph two. They don’t need it yet. If the data is credible, they’ll ask.

Media Pitch Builder – Use this profile to write the pitch itself
Stakeholder FAQ Builder with Audience Variants – Extend the profile into tailored Q&A for each audience
Message House – Build the core narrative that is then adapted per audience profile
Campaign Brief – Feed audience profiles directly into the campaign brief

Comms Audience Profile