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Renegade Marketers Unite · Drew Neisser

The Synthetic Research Advantage

·27 min·2 clips
John Lombardo reveals AI can reliably tell you what a wealth manager thinks, with correlations as high as 0.8.
This episode features Drew Neisser interviewing John Lombardo, co-founder of Evidenza and former head of research at LinkedIn's B2B Institute, about the transformative potential of synthetic research in marketing. They explore how AI-driven research offers a faster, cheaper alternative to traditional methods while maintaining high accuracy. Lombardo addresses three major misconceptions marketers hold about synthetic research, arguing against the beliefs that AI cannot reliably convey human thought, that it only produces average insights, and that it is inherently riskier than human surveys. He explains that synthetic research involves creating "digital twins" of a target customer profile to simulate responses. Lombardo cites internal comparisons showing correlations of 0.6 to 0.8 between AI and human survey results, which he considers a gold standard in social science. He describes how adjusting the AI's "temperature" setting can generate either consistent answers or wildly creative ideas for campaigns. A key advantage is eliminating "survey remorse" and "survey fatigue," as synthetic respondents can answer unlimited questions patiently and surveys can be rerun if flawed. Lombardo references OpenAI's "one pro" model, which is trained on PhD-level responses, to argue AI can provide exceptional, not just average, intelligence. He shares an example where AI identified confusing jargon like "AI agents" and "bi-directional communication" for a data management client and rewrote it as "seamless integration with Microsoft 365 tools." Another case involved a CPG company using synthetic research to deeply explore the ambiguous concept of "convenience" for a ready-to-drink product. Lombardo emphasizes that synthetic research allows for iterative calibration, turning initial failures into refined, accurate models over time. The tone is conversational and educational, blending a practical interview with persuasive advocacy for a new methodology. This episode is ideal for B2B CMOs, market researchers, and innovation leaders seeking efficient ways to gain customer insights and test messaging. Listeners skeptical of AI's applicability to qualitative human reasoning or deeply loyal to traditional focus groups might find the claims challenging.

As heard by us

A practical look at faster, cheaper research built on better questions.

The episode treats synthetic research as a quicker, cheaper, and more flexible option than traditional work, and John Lombardo explains it in plain terms. He starts by defining the audience, then builds digital twins that can answer ranked questions.

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Why you'd press play

You want a faster, cheaper, more flexible alternative to traditional research.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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