The royal effect on the hearts of the people

That miracle did not come and the moment that the whole nation had been dreading the most inevitably arrived. His Majesty passed away peacefully at 3.52pm on Thursday, October 13, 2016.
It has been more than a week since the passing of arguably the world’s greatest and longest-serving monarch, but we, the people of Thailand, have yet to come to grips with the harsh reality of his heartbreaking departure. The whole nation came to an abrupt standstill, and the mourning of his passing has just begun in earnest.
Of the 42 million users of Facebook in Thailand, I am certain that there is not a single person who has not expressed his or her sorrow in some way or another or not written an obituary via social media on this tragic loss. 
We have seen an outpouring of love, gratitude and tributes by his citizens and international leaders alike, never experienced before on such a scale.

Statistics
During the day of his passing, with reference to Google trends, we witnessed a spike in the search index of His Majesty’s name to 100, from the usual search average of just 1 to 2 over the past year.
According to IPG Mediabrands’ in-house social-media monitoring tool Prophesee, just under 1.5 million tweets of His Majesty’s name were mentioned, with several thousands of articles recorded within the ecosphere of blogs, forums and news.
It was the highest number of mentions recorded in national history in such a short span on any media platform available in Thailand, with tens of millions more engagements unaccounted for through Facebook and Line, because of their privacy policies.
Advertising, both through above-the-line and below-the-line media, has come to a halt out of respect for His Majesty.
The statistics are an accurate reflection of the love and emotional response that the people of Siam had for their beloved King, not by sheer default but by the genuine affection and adoration they had for him, his influence and many talents.
Beneath the sadness, there have been many lessons we have learned from our great King and many good things have come out of this event.

Visual projection
Throughout his 70-year reign, in tandem with the 4,000-plus royal projects that he graciously created and bestowed upon, he was very successful in portraying an image of a father figure to his nation, a patriarch who worked tirelessly and selflessly for the betterment of the common people of Thailand, especially in rural areas. The royal work that has long been imprinted in my memory is the artificial rain he ingeniously initiated during the droughts of the early 1990s.

Nostalgia
Numerous projects compiled in the form of images, long and short video clips, and other items began to surface on social media and were shared by millions through Facebook, then shared simultaneously again through Line.
The sheer amount of content generated from the life of one great man’s work was startling. Not only did this contents act as a reminder to those who were already familiar with His Majesty’s work, it was an eye-opening experience to those who weren’t – specifically the late-millennial and Generation Z demographics.
If there had ever been any lingering doubts about His Majesty’s contribution to the greater good of society, it was quickly dissipated through the sharing of his content by his very own people.

Leadership and humility
Minor Group chief executive officer William Heinecke best summarised His Majesty’s character by saying he was the best example of leadership who had created a sustainable vision for the country and manifested the greatest economic miracle that Thailand had ever experienced. 
However, in reality, he was much more than that. Incredibly, he contributed much more than what was expected of a monarch. He was a head of state who went beyond the prerequisites of someone sitting on a throne. 
The humility that he demonstrated over the decades won the hearts of the people, and the plethora of talents displayed during that same time through sports, music and the arts influenced and inspired generations who have been fortunate enough to witness them.
The passing of our great father has had a profound impact on our lives. If there was ever a time for the people of this nation to unite and exercise tolerance to one another despite the apparent differences in political ideologies, this is it. And may his legacy and indoctrination be practised and passed on for many generations to come, for the sake of Thailand’s future.

Pradon Sirakovit is associate director for corporate communications, IPG Mediabrands Thailand. E-mail: [email protected]. Facebook: IPG Mediabrands Thailand.