Emily, 37
Living situation
- Age: 37
- Political affiliation: Centre
- Type of innovation adaptation: Early majority
- Professional and financial situation
- Employment Status: Product Manager, Full-Time Employee
- Household income: $100,000 to $149,999
- Highest degree: Master of Science (Biomedical Engineering)
- Housing situation
- Place of residence: Long Beach
- Region: California
- Type of residence: Freehold house
- Marital status
- Married
- Household size
- 2 persons
- Effects of economic circumstances
- I have tried to spend less money
- My cost of living has risen noticeably
Personal characteristics & attitudes
- Hobbies and interests
- Outdoor activities
- Travel
- Read
- Important aspects of life and values
- A happy relationship
- Be successful
- New Learning
- Attitude towards innovation
- I like to stay technologically up to date
- Food attitudes
- I avoid artificial flavorings and preservatives
- Attitudes towards digital media
- Best picture and sound quality is important to me
- I prefer to subscribe to a bundle of streaming services
- Attitudes towards personal finances
- I could imagine handling all financial matters exclusively online
- I am well informed about my financial situation
- Internet settings
- I really appreciate having mobile internet access everywhere
- Mobile phone reception is good in the area where I live
- I am concerned that my data is being misused on the Internet
- Attitudes towards services
- I like to use AI tools (such as ChatGPT) to handle everyday tasks
- I tend to book services and services online
- Attitudes to travel
- I book travel services on the fly using my smartphone
- When I travel, I look forward to unique experiences
- Settings for consumer electronics
- When buying electronic devices, I pay particular attention to energy efficiency
- Settings for insurances
- I am well informed about my personal insurance contracts
Emily in Detail
Life and character
Emily is 37 years old, married, and lives with her partner in a two-person household in a home they own in Long Beach, California—in the economically diverse Greater Los Angeles area. As a product manager within the R&D organization of a pharmaceutical company, she is responsible full-time for the development and refinement of a pharmaceutical product; at the decision-making level, she acts as a bridge between managers and end-users—she steers her product through the development process, coordinates research, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and the interface with production, and makes recommendations that carry significant weight in the selection process, even without the large investment budget of an executive. She holds a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, combining deep technical and scientific understanding with product and market insight, and is part of the early majority when it comes to innovations. Her household income ranges from $100,000 to $149,999. Politically, she identifies as centrist—and, in light of a noticeable rise in the cost of living, has recently made a conscious effort to spend a little less.
At her core, Emily is a structured, evidence- and user-oriented go-getter whose understanding of value and risk is shaped by her responsibility for a product in a regulated environment: A delayed development, unclear requirements, a difficult transition from research to production, or a feature without proven benefits mean not only extra work for her, but also lost time, regulatory risks, and missed market opportunities. She therefore thinks in terms of impact, evidence, and priorities: What delivers the greatest value to patients, users, and the business; what is scientifically and regulatory sound; and how will success be measured?
What sets her apart is her combination of a scientific and technical background, a customer-focused mindset, and a willingness to learn. She enjoys staying up to date with the latest technology; as part of the “early majority,” she is open to new ideas but evaluates them pragmatically in terms of usefulness, feasibility, compliance, and acceptance. Learning new things is one of her core values; accordingly, she uses AI tools like ChatGPT naturally and extensively—for research, communication, planning, and time management, professional development, and even technical support. At the same time, she is not a careless user: she is concerned about the potential misuse of her data online, which makes her particularly sensitive to data protection, intellectual property, and security issues—a point of immediate relevance in a research-oriented environment.
Her daily digital life is efficient, mobile, and focused on quality. Mobile internet access everywhere is important to her; she values the best picture and sound quality and bundles her streaming services. She is fully on top of her finances and can imagine managing them entirely online; she likes to book services online. When it comes to electronics, she pays particular attention to energy efficiency—a focus on sustainability and cost-consciousness that also shapes her food choices (she avoids artificial flavors and preservatives). She tends to find advertising annoying; traditional online ads often bother her.
Emily finds balance in physical activity, new experiences, and learning. Outdoor activities and travel that offer unique experiences are important to her; she likes to book travel arrangements spontaneously via her smartphone. Reading is an integral part of her life—books and e-books as well as daily newspapers. Success is one of her core values. When it comes to spending, she is both price-conscious and eager to shop: she keeps an eye out for special offers but also enjoys shopping for pleasure; she researches major purchases online and prefers to receive her orders the very same day.
What motivates them - what drives them?
Values & attitude:
For Emily, what matters is that a product creates real, demonstrable value—for patients and users as well as for the business. A happy relationship, professional success, and learning new things are her core values. Applied to her work, this means she wants to make decisions that are well-founded, evidence-based, and transparent, and choose solutions that she can convincingly advocate for in front of scientific, regulatory, and commercial stakeholders. Empty promises don’t convince her; trust is built through proven benefits and sound arguments.
Goals:
Her goal is to guide successful products through the development process—solutions that are scientifically sound, meet market needs, and deliver measurable returns. Specifically, this means: clear requirements and priorities, successful and on-time development and launch, a strong product-market fit, and seamless collaboration between research, development, regulatory/quality, and production. In the pharmaceutical and manufacturing context, this primarily means accelerating the transition from development to production (technology transfer and scale-up) and ensuring it is conducted in compliance with regulations—so that research results can be turned into market-ready, scalable products more quickly. It is measured by metrics such as development progress and time-to-market, adherence to roadmaps and milestones, product success and acceptance, the speed of technology transfer, the quality of requirements and decisions, and the business and growth contributions of the product.
Pain Points / Challenges:
Three things cause the greatest friction in her work: first, competing stakeholder interests and changing requirements that jeopardize focus and the roadmap; second, the often arduous transition from research to production—data gaps, incompatibilities, and slow technology transfer between the laboratory, development, and production environments; third, the challenge of reconciling user and patient needs, scientific and technical realities, and compliance requirements within tight timelines and with limited resources. Added to this are data silos and a lack of reliable data for sound decision-making, dependencies on research and production, and the pressure to demonstrate measurable success. The industry reacts sensitively to vague claims of benefit without evidence, non-transparent statements, and solutions that do not integrate seamlessly into existing, regulated processes.
Digitalization & Technology Adoption:
Emily is a driving force behind digital transformation in product development—she translates scientific insights, market needs, and user requirements into concrete product decisions. Data-driven product development and analytics, AI as a tool for research, prioritization, and automation, digital twins and simulation for development and scale-up, cloud-based tools, and the digital integration of research, development, and production shape her day-to-day work. As an early adopter, she is open to new technologies but consistently evaluates them based on utility, feasibility, data protection/IP protection, and acceptance. She thinks in terms of user and patient value, processes, and impact rather than technology trends, and prefers solutions that can be seamlessly integrated and shorten the path from idea to market-ready product. The fact that she already makes extensive use of AI makes her a competent yet privacy-conscious user of modern tools.
How does she inform herself?
Media and information behavior:
Emily’s approach to gathering information is structured, digital, and focused on practical benefits. Before making major purchases, she first researches online; for her research, she uses search engines, customer reviews, and brand websites, drawing inspiration from social media, online stores, and her in-store experience. Professionally, she gathers comparative and well-founded information through product, technical, and industry publications; scientific and regulatory content; webinars; case studies; tool comparisons; and discussions within her professional network. Outside of work, she stays up to date through podcasts (preferably on business and economics, science & technology, comedy, and news & politics), e-books and books, daily newspapers, and targeted YouTube content; television plays only a minor role, accounting for one to five hours per week.
Channels & formats:
Emily can be reached digitally via social media, online stores, video platforms, and search engines; traditional touchpoints such as television, radio, movie theaters, and local brick-and-mortar stores serve as complementary channels, while intrusive online advertising tends to put her off. On social media, she actively uses YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram: she comments on posts, sends private messages, and likes or follows people and content creators—with LinkedIn being her primary professional channel. In terms of content, she’s drawn to formats that combine substance and clarity: concrete case studies with verifiable results, evidence and ROI data, illustrative demos and use cases from development and tech transfer, easy-to-understand visualizations, how-to content and webinars, as well as honest comparisons. Tangible, verifiable benefits convince her more than advertising promises.
Credibility & Trustworthy Voices:
For Emily, credibility comes from what can be substantiated with data, evidence, and real-world experience: verifiable results, references from comparable products or research organizations, and honest, independent reviews. What matters most to her are the assessments of peers and colleagues in product, development, and research roles, as well as those of experienced users, subject matter experts, and relevant communities. Glossy marketing without supporting evidence does not convince her; a provider earns her trust through transparency, robust evidence, responsible handling of data and intellectual property, and the ability to openly answer critical scientific and regulatory questions in detail.
Communication style:
When addressing Emily, be factual, clear, and results-oriented—using data, evidence, and concrete added value rather than buzzwords. She values structure, transparency, and an honest presentation of both strengths and limitations, and she quickly sees through empty promises. She is very open to modern, data-driven, and AI-supported approaches, as long as they demonstrate clear benefits, feasibility, data protection, and compliance. What she values most is communication that helps her make informed product decisions and convincingly advocate for them to her scientific, regulatory, and commercial stakeholders.
Which messages work?
Messages that align with their product- and development-oriented core logic are the most effective: “Proven benefits, scientific validity, and a smooth path to production trump gut feelings—with data, clear priorities, and measurable impact.” For them, benefit-based arguments such as the following are persuasive:
* “Here’s how to make product decisions based on reliable data—rather than assumptions.”
* “How to accelerate the transition from development to production—with end-to-end, compliant technology transfer and faster scale-up.”
* “Here’s how to balance user needs, scientific feasibility, and compliance—without any friction.”
* “How to Demonstrate Your Product’s Success and ROI—With Transparent Metrics That Will Convince Stakeholders, Too.”
* “How to Use AI and Data Safely—With Clear Benefits, IP Protection, and Robust Data Privacy.”
She is willing to embrace new ideas—provided their benefits are proven: clear data, transparent statements, easy integration, and a provider that considers user value, compliance, and data protection as a unified whole. What she rejects are vague promises, a lack of evidence, or solutions that create more friction in her regulated daily routine than they resolve.
Which tonality fits?
Emily’s tone is best described as factual, clearly structured, and value-driven—on par with that of a product manager with strong scientific and technical expertise. Instead of buzzwords, she relies on solid evidence, precise terminology (requirements, market fit, roadmap, tech transfer, ROI, data protection/IP), and an honest, transparent presentation. The ideal style makes the benefits tangible while remaining understandable: concrete, honest, backed by data, and with clear prioritization (proven user value and market fit at the core; seamless tech transfer and time-to-market as levers; data protection, IP protection, and compliance always taken into account). Self-service via high-quality content, demos, and webinars is welcome—but when it really counts, what matters is a knowledgeable contact person who takes your detailed questions seriously.
How does she make decisions—and who else is involved in the decision-making process?
Purchase criteria:
When evaluating new solutions, three factors are particularly important to Emily: first, demonstrable benefits that impact the product, users/patients, and the business; second, integrability and ease of use—including a seamless transition from development to production—so that collaboration and time-to-market are not hindered; and third, data protection, IP protection, security, and compliance. In addition—partly due to her cost-consciousness—she looks for a fair price-performance ratio, strong references, and transparent reviews.
Risks to be insured against:
Before making a recommendation, Emily wants above all to rule out poor decisions with no proven benefit, a lack of market fit, and delays in development or launch; gaps in technology transfer between development and production; integration and acceptance issues; as well as data protection, IP, security, and compliance risks. The more clearly a provider demonstrates—through data, references, and a transparent approach—that the solution offers tangible benefits, seamless integration, and robust data security, the more likely it is to earn her trust.
Buying Center & Organizational Obstacles:
Formally, Emily rarely makes budget decisions on her own—but as a product manager in the R&D organization, she has significant influence over which solutions make the shortlist and are recommended internally. The buying center typically includes the Head of R&D or the R&D leadership team, the CTO and IT/Security, manufacturing and operations managers (for technology transfer and scale-up), regulatory and quality teams, management or budget decision-makers, and the procurement department. Emily synthesizes these perspectives, evaluates benefits, evidence, and feasibility, and is often the one who drives a solution forward internally—or eliminates it. Typical organizational hurdles include limited budgets and cost-cutting targets, competing stakeholder interests, the gap between the worlds of research and production, entrenched data silos, and internal coordination loops. Messages are therefore most effective when they provide her with the substantiated arguments and data she needs to convince scientific, regulatory, and commercial stakeholders alike.
Positioning in the Big Five model
Openness: 8
Relevant adjectives: eager to learn, interested in science, technology, and products, open to new ideas with a focus on practical benefits
Conscientiousness: 8
Relevant adjectives: structured, organized, good at setting priorities, reliable, and results-oriented
Extraversion: 6
Relevant adjectives: communicative and a good facilitator in a stakeholder context, active in networking (especially on LinkedIn), team-oriented
Compatibility: 7
Appropriate adjectives: cooperative, balanced, fair—expects transparency and substance in return
Neuroticism: 4
Relevant adjectives: generally resilient and level-headed, mindful of data protection and risk, seeks clarity even under time pressure and when prioritizing tasks
Media use & consumption
- Digital advertising touchpoints
- Social media
- Online shops
- Video platforms
- Search engines
- Settings for online advertising
- Online ads often annoy me
- Non-digital advertising touchpoints
- On TV
- On the radio
- Directly in store
- At the cinema/movie theater
- Use of publishing media (last 12 months)
- Podcasts
- eBooks
- Books (Print)
- Daily newspapers (print)
- Preferences for podcast content by genre
- Business and economy
- Science & Technology
- Comedy
- News & Politics
- TV usage by duration (per week)
- 1 to 5 hours
- Preferences for films and series by genre
- Comedies
- Docs
- Dramas
- Use of social media by brand
- YouTube
- Activities on social media
- Commented on posts
- Private messages sent
- Liked posts from other users or followed people
- Posts from influencers/content creators liked or followed
- Products/topics talked about online
- Computer, smartphone & technology
- Movies & Series
- Vacation & Travel
- Music
- Fashion
- Use of AI
- Online research
- Messaging and communication (e.g., emails, text messages, translations)
- Planning + Time Management (e.g., to-do lists, scheduling)
- Education + Learning
- Technical Support
- Internet access by type
- Landline Internet connection (e.g., DSL, cable, fiber optic)
- Mobile data connection (e.g., 4G, 5G, smartphone hotspot)
- Shopping Settings
- When I shop, I look out for special offers
- I like to go shopping just for fun
- Online shopping settings
- Before making any major purchases, I always do some research online first
- I'd like to receive my purchases the same day
- Sources of inspiration for new products
- Social media
- Online shops
- Right in the store
- Information sources for product research
- Search engines (such as Google)
- Customer reviews
- Brand websites
- High brand awareness by category
- Smartphones
- PCs and laptops
- Clothing
- Shoes
- Food + non-alcoholic drinks
- Smartphone by brand
- Apple
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