Forward The Cure
Uhmpang Hospital Foundation
Issue 41 | December 2016
Agency
The Leo Burnett Group Thailand
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Sompat Trisadikun Executive Creative Director Chanyutt Boonyagate Creative Group Head Sakon Khanawuthikarn Art Directors Skon Khanawuthikarn Sompat Trisadikun Copywriter Jakkaphong Kirdtongkum
Other Credits
Account Director Panjaporn Kruapanichwong Group Account Director Thanyaporn Teeraprapha Editors Thawisawakorn Seangkaharat Thanakorn Leeramass
Date
September 2015
Background
Uhmpang hospital had noticed that well-to-do city-dwellers tended to have a lot of unused medicines and prescriptions. Those meds could be used by less well-off patients.
The challenge was to bring the two together, the discarded pills and the people who could use them.
Idea
Being poorly-funded, Uhmpang Hospital needed a platform idea to help them recruit free medicines from as many people as possible.
The solution was to forward the meds.
When medicines were dispensed by the pharmacies, they were placed in a paper bag. What if the bag doubled up as an envelope, which could be mailed back to Uhmpang Hospital with any leftover pills or treatments?
The Cure Pack was distributed to hospitals and pharmacies around Bangkok.
When people picked up their meds, they were invited to use the packaging to mail any unwanted pills and treatments on to Uhmpang Hospital. Doctors sorted through the various pills, keeping those that could still be used.
Results
Over 100,000 packages of the Cure Pack were produced at a cost of less than $6,000 USD. The average cost was only $0.067 dollar/person but the medicine sent back was beyond price. Returned meds have already helped over 25,000 patients at Uhmpang Hospital.
Our Thoughts
What a brilliant way to turn one medium into another. Simple packaging became mail, thus transforming waste material into something of real purpose.
This simple idea was taken up by over 100 pharmacies and 10 hospitals, making a real difference to the lives of some of Bangkok's less fortunate citizens. Bravo.