Synthetic personalisation is the process of addressing mass audiences as though they were individuals through inclusive language usage. This concept emerged from critical discourse analysis (CDA), a branch of sociolinguistics concentrating upon how power is articulated.
Norman Fairclough, credited with developing the concept, calls it "a compensatory tendency to give the impression of treating each of the people 'handled' en masse as an individual." As a result, this builds an intimate relationship between the speaker, writer and the audiences, creating a sense of private engagement and resonance.
Nevertheless, it is important to take into account that synthetic personalisation builds on a foundation of an "unequal encounter", in which the producer of text or speech have sole control over a one-sided endorsement. Hence, synthetic personalisation often appears to be neutral, yet, ideological powers are hidden behind. synthetic personalisation is an effective strategy used by the mass media to win consumers' hearts and simulate friendships between consumers and producers.
Political Discourse
Due to its efficiency in addressing indeterminable audiences, the use of synthetic personalisation is also prevalent in political settings. In recent years, the use of synthetic personalisation in politicians' speech has been analysed. Relevant research includes Wong's study on Barack Obama's speech at the 2008 US Democratic National Convention,
E-mail and Direct Marketing
E-mail campaigns routinely utilises synthetic personalization by inserting recipients' names and tailoring subject lines (e.g. "John, your exclusive offer awaits!") as a strategy to boost engagement. This strategy has been shown to increase open rates by up to 20% and sales lead by 31%, thereby enhancing customer engagement and response to marketing campaigns."
Chatbots and AI
In conversational commerce, AI-based chatbots use synthetic personalisation through anthropomorphic language and second-person pronouns, which increases users' perception that products are personalized to them, thereby enhancing their incentive to purchase, as they perceive the products are more relevant to them. This significantly increases users' perception of personalisation of the products and their willingness to pay compared to neutral chatbot interactions.
Method
Use of First and Second Person Pronouns
The use of second person pronouns, like you and we, contributes significantly to the process of synthetic personalisation within the mass media. In particular, it was found that women's speeches in mass media tend to include more possessive pronouns when compared to men's. Using a variety of sociolinguistic concepts, including positive politeness, she comments upon the ideological implications, such as patriarchy.
Direct Address
The use of second person pronouns, like "you" and "we", to address mass audiences as individuals used by synthetic personalization is usually referred to as "Direct Address" (Kennedy, W.J., 1987).
Inclusive Language
The use of first person pronouns (e.g. we, us, our) to construct a sense of community and shared identity between sender and mass audience.