Hi! Managers: P&G celebrates 25 years of serving Thais with innovation

P&G Thailand’s experience has been like those of many other companies in the Kingdom, growing through many challenging circumstances and also enjoying the glory of business opportunities. Yet I have noticed the key success factors we have learned over the years, and I would love to share them broadly even though I haven’t been with the company since its establishment. What we have learned is vividly shared in the way we operate daily, and even people who have just joined the company can learn from it easily.
In our first decade after we merged with Richardson-Vicks Thailand 25 years ago, we learned that innovation was a key to success. During those early years, P&G Thailand did an amazing job of introducing many product innovations to Thai consumers. We were the first company to introduce disposable baby diapers under the name Pampers to serve all mums in Thailand. We also introduced the first two-in-one shampoo in the haircare category under the Rejoice brand. We introduced a unique remedial shampoo for healthy hair under the brand Pantene and educated Thai consumers on how provitamin B5 is the key to restoring hair quality. We rebranded Oil of Ulan to Olay and turned it into one of today’s leading skincare brands in Thailand.
All of these early innovations grew the industry immensely and gradually changed the way consumers buy products. And we learned that consumers are delighted to be offered quality products that really satisfy their unmet needs.
We also saw changes in the market environment in Thailand, where the retail business has totally evolved and shoppers are another layer that we need to understand. Hence the second decade was the period when we began playing a major role in leading the changes in how to attract more shoppers with the “moment of truth” concept. The first moment of truth (FMOT) is when shoppers need to be delighted, while the second moment of truth (SMOT) is when consumers are satisfied with the promised benefits we communicate through our commercials. Today FMOT and SMOT are generic terms used by people in the industry in their planning and operations in the same way we did originally.
Innovation is in our life blood, and it’s in everything we have done for the past 25 years, committing ourselves to deliver even greater innovations to consumers in the years to come. We also have learned that in-depth consumer understanding is the most viable tool for P&G to out-compete other players in the industry. That’s the reason we seriously value consumer research as a growth engine. Innovative ways of getting consumer insights through focus group discussions, one-on-one consumer interviews or even personal home visits to gain hands-on experience from our consumers, all this is what we consider our competitive edge to this day. Understanding consumers better is something you can witness from what we did throughout the past 25 years of introducing product and commercial innovations to serve and delight Thai consumers in a meaningful way.
But the opportunity that exists for us in the decades ahead is even more inspiring. Globally, Procter & Gamble reaches more than 4 billion consumers today. Thailand is still a strategic market to contribute to more growth. And I believe the opportunity to grow more with P&G brands and products that we know improve Thai consumers’ lives in small but meaningful ways is still immense. Few companies in the world can touch and improve as many lives as P&G can. I believe that P&G Thailand will be a game changer for the Thai economy and continue to serve Thai consumers today and for many years to come.
Congratulations on the 25th anniversary!

Medhee Jarumaneeroj is Influencer Marketing & External Relations Leader – Asia Male Grooming at Procter & Gamble Asia. Follow his articles in this Hi! Managers column every fourth Monday of the month.