In this video Jasravee Kaur Chandra explains why Brand Insight can be a competitive advantage in the world of AI.
❝Insight Isn’t Data—It’s Desire❞
Let’s begin with a truth bomb:
“Insights don’t come with decimal points.”
You’ve probably sat in meetings flooded with charts and data. Numbers are comforting—but they often deceive. Just because 75% of Indians use fairness creams doesn’t mean you understand why.
Here’s why that’s not insight:
• Data shows what’s happening — not why it’s happening.
• Observation (“People apply fairness creams at night”) shows patterns — but patterns are not provocations.
• Facts (“Melanin determines skin colour”) don’t move hearts or open wallets.
The question isn’t what people do. It’s why they feel compelled to do it.
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❝A Pattern Isn’t a Provocation❞
Take this example:
“Consumers mix fairness creams with foundation.”
Interesting, yes. But not insightful. It’s a behaviour, not a belief. A tweak, not a tension.
To get to insight, we must ask:
• Why do they feel the need to mix it?
• What’s missing in the original product?
• What cultural or emotional need is being masked?
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❝The Glass Skin Trap❞
K-beauty trends, 10-step routines, influencer hacks—they’re everywhere.
But trend-following ≠ truth-seeking.
“Following a trend isn’t the same as understanding a truth.”
Until you uncover the emotional driver—the shame, aspiration, or insecurity—it’s just noise.
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❝So What Is an Insight?❞
An insight is:
• A human truth that’s unspoken, uncomfortable, and emotionally loaded.
• A deeper motivation, a cultural tension, a hidden longing.
• The spark that makes a brand say, “I see you.”
“It creates that aha moment… and opens the door for a sharp, resonant, unforgettable strategy.”
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❝Fair & Lovely: Selling the Right to Belong❞
Let’s decode one of the most talked-about Indian brands: Fair & Lovely.
• Product truth: Daily use makes skin lighter.
• Cultural insight:
“Being born a girl, dark and poor, can feel like a curse.”
This isn’t about whitening. It’s about reclaiming agency.
Brand essence:
“The power to defy gene pool and destiny.”
This is where insight becomes alchemy. A controversial insight, yes—but a powerful one that anchored the brand’s entire marketing narrative.
Even amid rebranding and backlash, the brand’s market share remained strong.
Because when a brand taps into deep emotional truth, it doesn’t just sell.
It sticks.
❝Dove: Redefining Beauty, Not Reinforcing It❞
Enter Dove. At a time when every beauty brand screamed “fair, thin, young,” Dove whispered something radical:
“What if you’re already enough?”
Here’s how Dove did it:
• Spoke to psychologists → who confirmed beauty ideals lead to self-hate.
• Interviewed young girls → most were unhappy with how they looked.
• Chose empathy over escapism.
Cultural insight:
“Unrealistic beauty standards distort self-perception.”
Brand essence:
“Real beauty. Feel good in your own skin.”
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❝The Insight Process: Messy, Not Linear❞
Forget tidy funnels. Real insight mining looks like chaos—until it doesn’t.
It flows like this:
1. Data – from research, social listening, ethnography.
2. Dialogue – between different data points, experts, cultural contexts.
3. Synthesis – connect contradictions, extract emotions, re-frame problems.
You wear three hats:
• Detective → hunts for hidden clues
• Psychologist → reads unspoken tensions
• Storyteller → spins emotion into strategy
“It’s logic and heart colliding to reveal the truth.”
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❝Insight Isn’t a Slide. It’s a Revelation.❞
If you’re still wondering whether your so-called “insight” is real, ask:
• Does it make people say “Yes! That’s me!”?
• Does it carry emotional depth, not just intellectual weight?
• Can it inspire creativity, provoke conversation, and build culture?
If not, go deeper.
Because as you now know: “Science doesn’t sell skincare. Emotion does.”
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Jagged with Jasravee, the Marketing Show 
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