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Published on September 8, 2007

Medhee Jarumaneeroj, marketing and corporate communications manager for Proctor & Gamble, has a disarmingly gentle smile. Despite juggling several of P&G's high-profile brands, the daily strain of keeping some of Thailand's biggest names before our eyes never drains his energy.

The Nation met him at the swanky "Olay One Night Bridal Experience", where he was blending in nicely in a dazzling white jacket.

Considering most of Medhee's time is dedicated to work - even his weekends are spent teaching at different universities - he seems a surprisingly well-rounded person. Waking up early each morning to read the 12 newspapers he subscribes to might have something to do with his broad-minded outlook.

Dealing with the marketing side for nearly all the brands at P&G Thailand, Medhee says that he has to weigh up the importance of each one and divide his time accordingly.

"You have to know which is the big rock, " he says, "Every rock is different, but you have to know which ones to throw to create the biggest ripples."

One rock Medhee is looking at right now is Olay, which claims to be the number-one selling moisturiser in Thailand. Although most brands use images of flawless beauty to sell their products, Medhee says that it's important to give confidence to women when it comes to selling cosmetics.

Medhee discovered the cracks in women's confidence through talking to his clients, which gave him an idea for P&G's latest advertisement. It features a woman complaining, "I haven't been complimented for so long", before she finds the solution in the shape of a beauty cream.

"It's like selling hope in a jar," Medhee says, who learned his marketing trade at Bangkok's Assumption and Thammasat universities.

Understanding the consumer, he says, is the secret to a trade where responding with lightning speed to fast-changing lifestyles is vital. And that's where P&G's extensive research and consumer database comes in, giving him an accurate weathervane for the fickle winds of women's desires. One of the company's biggest beauty markets right now is for whitening and anti-ageing products.

Besides extensive research, Medhee says P&G concentrates a lot on training, which most other beauty brands ignore. Employees are even sent to P&G's very own marketing university.

But Medhee has a life outside P&G. He teaches at Assumption, Chulalongkorn, and Thammasat universities, sharing his wisdom of his experience in brand management, copywriting, and advertising with students.

Before he came to P&G he taught at Assumption University full-time.

"I was ashamed at myself for teaching the same things over and over, without having real-world experience to back up my words."

These days Medhee gathers that experience outside his work, too, by travelling and reading. The two books he cites as his biggest influences are "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman and "Chasing Daylight", by Eugene O'Kelly. The latter is about a busy and successful CEO who at 53 was diagnosed with brain cancer. Given just three months to live, he transformed his whole lifestyle, focusing on his friends and family to create as many perfect moments as possible in the time left to him.   

Taking inspiration from the book, Medhee hopes to retire at around 50 and travel the globe. For him travel isn't just jetting off to the most beautiful places. It's also about talking to the people there to get an insight into their cultures and lifestyles. Besides his yearning for knowledge he has other priorities, and his family are at the top of the pyramid. 

As a lecturer, Medhee advises that each young person today should learn what makes them stand out as individuals from their peers. He suggests that all students take a SWOT analysis so they know their strengths and weaknesses before entering the competitive job force. Studying at Harvard doesn't make a person more capable, he observes.

 "It's the intrinsic value of each person that matters."

Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra

 The Nation