Synthetic Populations & Their Impacts on Public Relations

What if the best market research started by IGNORING what people say?What if, instead, you started modeling them based on proven behaviour?Right down to the regional level?And what if political polling was done this way too A new term is showing up in research and strategy circles with major implications for communicators: synthetic populations. This is not a cheap AI focus group. It is a data-built population model that reflects how people are distributed and behave at scale using high-quality inputs like official statistics, mobility patterns, and registration data, rather than relying only on interviews and surveys.That matters because self-reported data is often aspirational, incomplete, or socially filtered. Synthetic populations offer another path: estimating market potential, testing where campaigns should start, understanding regional differences, and pressure-testing assumptions before rollout. The real question is not just what synthetic populations are, but what happens when strategy shifts from asking people to modeling populations. Listen For3:07 What’s the difference between a synthetic panel and a synthetic population?5:13 How can a synthetic population be realistic without using real individuals?8:49 Why do surveys over-claim luxury brands? And how does official data correct it?11:58 What did Germany’s flat-rate transit ticket reveal about commuting by region?14:15 Could synthetic populations change how political polling is done?  Guest: Eike Hartmann, Vice President Custom Research & Insights Business at Statista+Website | LinkedInWhite Paper on Synthetic Populations DougSubstack | Website | LinkedInFarzanaSubstack | Website | LinkedIn Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.Apply to be a guest on the podcastConnect with usLinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | PinterestRequest a transcript of this episodeSend us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episodeSupport the show