Pathways: How to Create an Analysis Audience

This guide will walk you through creating an Analysis Audience that can be used for campaign comparisons, audience analysis, and many other reports.

Update (August 22, 2025): You can now create an Analysis Audience directly in the audience builder. If you are creating an audience that's based on donors and transactions, you'll see the option to "Create an Analysis Audience" before you save your audience.

Step 1: Access the Audiences Section

1. Log in to Avid.
2. Navigate to the Pathways section.
3. Click on Manage Audiences. On this tab, you'll find all of your audiences, such as lifecycle segments or giving level segments.

Step 2: Create a New Audience

1. Add a New Audience:
   1. Click on the "Add Audience" button.
   2. Give your audience a descriptive name. For example: “June 2024 Fundraising.”
2. Define Your Audience Criteria:
   • Use the Segment Builder to define your audience. You can select criteria such as:
     • Appeal Name (e.g., “June Campaign”).
     • Appeal Code (e.g., "HB2406NL01" or however it is defined in your CRM)
     • Date Range (e.g., transactions with a date between June 1 and June 30).
     • Channels (e.g., Online, Direct Mail, etc.).
   • You can combine multiple filters to include all relevant appeals (e.g., “June E-newsletter,” “June Newsletter,” and “June E-appeal”).
   • If your data isn't structured to allow for an individual appeal, you can always select a timeframe and a channel as a starting point.
3. Save Your Audience:
   • Once you’ve added the criteria, click Save.
   • Avid will take you back to the audience page. Your new audience will show the number of contacts who match the criteria and allow you to take action on it.

Step 3: Create an Analysis Audience

1. Select the Audience:
   1. Locate your newly created audience in the list.
   2. Click on the ellipses icon, and then "Create Analysis Audience"
2. Configure the Analysis Audience:
   1. Start Date:
      You have 3 option for how you can set a start date.
       
      1. You can set a specific date (i.e. 06/01/2024). This could be related to a specific campaign or appeal.
      2. You can set it to "Date Constituent is Added to Audience" to base your audience on when a contact first appeared.
      3. You can set it to the "Minimum Gift Date".(Available only on audiences that utilize transaction data.)
         
         This will look for the first transaction date of the audience—this is especially useful for campaigns based on transaction timing.
   2. Appeal Code:
      • Set a static appeal code. If you know the exact appeal code of this audience as mapped in the CRM, you can enter it here.
      • Or you can set it to "Transaction Appeal Code." (Available only on audiences that utilize transaction data.)
        
        This will automatically utilize the appeal code associated with your audience's individual transactions.
   3. Category: (Optional) 
      Assign a category (e.g., “Monthly Appeals” or "Demographics") for better organization and filtering inside of your reports.
3. Save the Analysis Audience.
   A new icon will appear next to the audience, indicating it is ready for analysis. You can edit it later if needed.

Step 4: Use the Analysis Audience in Reports

Once your Analysis Audience is created, click over to your Insights page. You'll find a report titled "Analysis Audience Giving Report". This report will allow you to:

• Compare revenue, donor acquisition, reactivation, or upgrades between audiences.
• Conduct day-by-day analyses to track performance over time.
• Analyze year-over-year performance or compare multiple campaigns that happen at varying times from year to year.

By following these steps, you can leverage Avid's Analysis Audiences to gain deeper insights into your campaigns and donor behavior, ensuring a data-driven approach to your fundraising strategy!