I am sure you, dear reader, have something about you that would surprise people….and marketers. Maybe it is a hobby, a hidden talent, or a quirky habit. These are the kinds of unexpected truths that “Meet Edna,” Cognitiv’s latest mid-funnel brand campaign, celebrates.
I had the privilege of sitting down with some of the brains behind the brand campaign and am excited to share more about what this campaign—and the tech behind it—means for advertisers and how it is reshaping the way we think about audiences.
In our campaign, Edna, Marcus, Alex, Robin, and Oscar are symbols of the unexpected audiences that often drive the biggest results, yet are often overlooked because they do not fit conventional targeting molds.
“This campaign is an invitation to let your customers surprise you,” says Justine Frostad, SVP of Marketing at Cognitiv. “When we leverage deep learning to move beyond assumptions, we uncover the unexpected truths that make people who they are, giving brands the power to show up in the moments and places where people are most open to connection. Those are the moments where brands earn genuine trust and attention.
Turning Data into Discovery
At its core, Meet Edna further embodies Cognitiv’s mission: to bring intelligence to advertising. We are helping brands go beyond basic audience definitions and discover their most valuable customers through deep learning.
“What makes deep learning so powerful is its ability to reveal the layers we’d otherwise miss,” Justine explains. “It shows us the people who fall outside the conventional categories, but often end up driving outsized impact. Your most loyal customer might be living in the quietest corner of your data.”
Traditional targeting looks at demographics or interests. Deep learning digs into the subtle behaviors behind real human actions, the stuff marketers might never know they can uncover.
“Rule-based targeting paints audiences with broad strokes, reaching only those who fit predefined boxes,” says Dr. Aaron Andalman, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Cognitiv. “Deep learning works outside those lines—our models learn from behavior in real time, uncovering patterns and audiences that fall outside expectations to drive outcomes as people and markets change.”
From Insight to Impact
Developed in partnership with the creative agency Manual Labor, Meet Edna was built to bridge human creativity and artificial intelligence, an uncommon balance in adtech.
“AI didn’t take the place of human creativity, it heightened it,” Justine says. “It didn’t replace collaboration, it stretched it. The breakthrough moments came when AI insight met human intuition, creating friction that sparked richer, more powerful ideas.”
By personifying deep learning outcomes, the campaign turns a technical capability into a relatable truth: your best customer might not look like your typical one. Cognitiv’s models continuously learn from data, ensuring we’re finding the right people at the right moments.
Finding the People Behind the Data
Cognitiv’s platform uses custom deep learning algorithms tailored to each brand, offering a more adaptive, context-aware approach than traditional machine learning models. Instead of relying on pre-set segments or third-party data, the system understands what drives consumer behavior across environments, from content consumption to purchase intent.
“Deep learning identifies who is truly driving performance in real time,” Aaron explains. “It enables precision targeting at scale and allows advertisers to optimize campaigns without waiting for a full campaign cycle. That’s a game changer.”
And the insights can surprise even the most experienced marketers.
“Our clients often discover incredibly valuable customers they haven’t built formal personas for,” says Justine. “These are people with surprising behaviors and traits that don’t fit the usual patterns, yet they drive engagement. It’s a reminder that data doesn’t define people, it reveals them. That’s when marketing stops being about targeting and starts being about connecting.”
Beyond AI Hype
Meet Edna shows what deep learning really does: uncovering unexpected audiences, driving real impact, and strengthening connections between brands and people. Every brand has an Edna, a customer they might not expect, but who is perfect for their product.
“The more intelligence we bring to advertising, the more people feel seen,” says Justine. “We are all complex, unpredictable, and delightfully surprising, and Meet Edna brings that truth to life.”
Want to see the campaign in action? During Advertising Week New York, we asked people to share something about themselves that might surprise us, and the answers were just as unexpected as Edna herself. Watch the video here.
