APU’s School of Marketing and Management (SoMM) hosted an industry talk titled ‘From Data to Delight: How Customer Insights Create Extraordinary Customer Value’, delivered by Kantar Malaysia General Manager, Ms Paromeeta Mathur Banerjee, to an audience of 107 students, exploring how leading brands transform raw data into actionable insights through global case studies from Heineken, Heinz, and KitKat.

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On 11th September 2026, the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation’s (APU) School of Marketing and Management (SoMM) hosted a high-impact industry talk titled ‘From Data to Delight: How Customer Insights Create Extraordinary Customer Value’. 

Organised by Ms Harjinder Kaur, SoMM Senior Lecturer and Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) Coordinator, the event brought top-tier corporate intelligence directly to the campus stage. 

Delivered by Ms Paromeeta Mathur Banerjee, General Manager and Country Head (Insights Division) at Kantar Malaysia, MRSM EXCO Member, and APU IAP Member, the session drew 107 enthusiastic students across SoMM, School of Business (SoB), Foundation Programmes, and Postgraduate studies.

Opening the session, Ms Harjinder highlighted the imperative for future-focused business education in today’s digital economy, remarking that technical knowledge alone is no longer sufficient in an increasingly data-driven market. 

She explained that through this engagement, the primary goal was to expose students to how leading organisations transform raw data into meaningful business strategies, noting that Ms Paromeeta demonstrated the essential balance between analytical precision and a deep understanding of human behaviour.

During the presentation, Ms Paromeeta challenged the audience to rethink conventional corporate analytics, emphasizing that market leaders are not merely data-rich, but insight-rich.

She clearly delineated the critical distinctions between data, findings, and actionable insights, explaining that while data records what happened, true insights uncover why it matters and where a brand must head next. 

Introducing Kantar’s flagship framework for building brands that are Meaningful, Different, and Salient, she examined pressing market disruptions such as artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, economic uncertainty, and media fragmentation. 

Citing real-world case studies from global and regional brands including Grab, Netflix, Shopee, TikTok, Spritzer, and Walmart, she illustrated how contemporary Malaysian consumers actively seek authenticity, financial confidence, and emotional resonance.

To illustrate how creative brand-building solves everyday friction, Ms Paromeeta presented several award-winning global campaigns. 

For instance, Heineken turned lengthy, frustrating voice notes into an innovative marketing touchpoint by leaning into existing cultural habits rather than interrupting them.

Additionally, Heinz Ketchup executed the minimalist ‘Look Familiar?’ campaign, leveraging distinctive brand assets and visual recognition without displaying a single logo or product shot. 

Furthermore, KitKat deployed a giant KitKat bar as a temporary shop closure sign in its ‘Back in 5 Minutes’ campaign, proving how simple brand truths can seamlessly integrate into daily life. 

Addressing the rise of influencer marketing and creator culture, she noted that when consumer attention is fragmented across platforms, trusted voices help brands travel further and build lasting credibility. 

Transitioning from strategy to essential professional skill sets, Ms Paromeeta urged students to cultivate empathy, curiosity, storytelling, and artificial intelligence fluency to become true architects of decisions. 

She presented a simple yet potent formula for brand success, stating that observation plus understanding plus action equals true value.

Advising attendees not to aim to be the person with the most slides, but rather the person who makes the decision clearer, she reminded them that while consumers rarely remember background research, they never forget the experiences that research creates.

The session sparked a vibrant question-and-answer segment, with students posing sharp questions on consumer psychology, AI analytics, brand differentiation, and market research practices. 

Reflecting on the significance of the event, Head of SoMM, Associate Professor Dr Devinder Kaur, expressed gratitude to Ms Paromeeta for delivering an inspiring talk that successfully connected industry realities with customer challenges, thereby bridging the gap between academia and industry. 

Student feedback across disciplines echoed these sentiments, with Digital Marketing students Ni Putu Ayu, AlNahar Salman, and Wong Mei Huey shared that connecting insights with unmet needs drives true differentiation and connects classroom theory to real-world strategy. 

Similarly, International Business Management students Anushree Ananda Krishnan and Dravid Trishanth Jaysham, alongside Business student Klayton Varind Da Silva and E-Business student Yui Sakamoto, highlighted that moving beyond transactional numbers to understand emotional motivations is where real brand loyalty is won.

As the presentation closed, participants were left with the resonant message that winning brands are not data-rich, but insight-rich, and that the future ultimately belongs not to those with the most data, but to those who understand humans best.