Background

March 2020, when WHO declared COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic, Korea was no exception. The number of confirmed cases and diagnostic tests was exponentially increasing. Among the COVID-19 medical teams worldwide, 1 in 3 healthcare workers suffer from sleep disorders, and 87.1% of them also experience depression. At least 90,000 of them have been infected with the virus, and more than 260 nurses have died. Both physically and mentally, the medical teams experience immense pain and anxiety. Even though numerous Korean citizens wanted to support the exhausted medical teams, for the sentiment to directly reach the healthcare workers battling in the field 24/7 was impossible. Therefore, we aimed to send the citizens’ messages of gratitude to the exhausted medical staff, raise the public’s disease awareness, and encourage the practice of social distancing. To achieve this, we designed the “#Cheeringbandage” campaign to directly deliver the touching messages.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

There are beautiful typographies, but nothing is more touching than handwriting. Bandages protect the medical-teams from the 8-hour weight of medical gear. From the public, we received the handwritings-of-encouragement and printed them on 5cmX2cm bandages. People submitted messages with the #Cheeringbandage hashtag, handwritings, DMs, and AR-filters on Instagram. The key to the “Cheering Bandage” design was excluding the visual-elements from the packaging and replacing them with transparent-materials to make the messages visible without opening the wrapping. A variety of handwritten-messages were printed on the center of the bandages using a custom-made printer. Through this process, 400,000 unique bandages were produced and delivered nationwide to the 37 hospitals and screening-clinics treating COVID-19. When the medical-professionals enter the screening-center and treatment-rooms, they use the ‘cheering bandages’. Whenever they put them on, they not only protect themselves from physical wounds but also receive the messages-of-support with their own eyes and skin.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

To be used by medical-professionals, “Cheering Bandage” must comply with the-Korea-Food-and-Drug-Administration’s safety standards. Also, to individually apply the heartfelt-handwritings on the center of the bandages a specially made printer was implemented. The key to the “Cheering Bandage” design was the personal-handwritings submitted by the public. Therefore, they excluded the visual-elements from the packaging and replaced them with transparent-materials to make the messages visible without opening the wrapping. The case utilized the typographic and campaign-logo that shape hearts with bandages to move the medical-staff’s mind without flashy design. Through this process, 400,000 unique bandages were produced and delivered nationwide to the 37 hospitals and screening-clinics treating COVID-19. When the medical professionals use these bandages they can receive the messages of support with their own eyes and skin. Additionally, “Cheering-Bandage-AR-filter” and stickers were released on social media, allowing the public to indirectly experience and sympathize with the distress of the healthcare-workers.

List the results (20% of vote)

400,000 #Cheeringbandages distributed to 37 nationwide medical institutions and selective care centers that treat COVID-19 [FACEBOOK Brand Lift Study] Campaign awareness: 8.5 times the APAC average (23.7%) Campaign preference: 7.5 times the APAC average (23.3%) Campaign upper prayer: 2x the global average (22.3%) Campaign Video View Count: Record 4.1 million views 10x the cost efficiency of the global average [MEDIA HIGHLIGHT] Without spending major publicity expenses, major Korean broadcasters (KBS, JTBC, etc.) covered “Cheeringbandage” on their own Korea’s top online portal site NAVER and global magazine ELLE covered the “Cheering Bandage” campaign [SOCIAL INFLUENCER] Korean celebrities and social influencer voluntarily participated in the campaign, spreading this to about 1.7 million Instagram followers [Social Buzz Effect of Bandage Manufacturing Companies] Social media followers increased by 110,317% Social media content view increased by 2,757% Content likes increased by 432% Bandage manufacturer (Youngchemical) media coverage increased by 3,600% (as of 2020)