When the Marketing Communications team was assigned to interpret the phrase “It’s Expensive to Be Poor” and turn it into a creative piece of work—so that the general public could understand the deeper meaning behind those words—it became the starting point of Happy Time, or our “sharing hour.” This is a regular internal activity at Ngern Tid Lor Public Company Limited, created to share interesting stories and learnings from different teams, and pass them on to everyone in the organization.
This Happy Time session, Behind the Scenes—the story of what it takes to bring one campaign to life—was therefore held under the concept of “Market…Thinking” (inviting Ngern Tid Lor people to “get thinking like marketers”). The Marketing Communications team stepped into the role of a creative agency, dividing participants into three groups to pitch their ideas under the theme “It’s Expensive to Be Poor.”
It began with “Team จนดี” (Yes, Poor)—opening a new perspective that helps us understand poverty more deeply by showing the relationship between low income, high expenses (because the cost of living is expensive), and the amount of time each person has in a day—which is not equal for everyone. They used a basic everyday necessity as an example: boxed milk, something most households buy for their children. For people living in poverty, access to this product often comes at a higher unit cost.
So, the work was designed to be easy to grasp, using the “not equal” (≠) sign as a symbol of inequality—highlighting the difference between buying one carton versus buying one pack (12 cartons). Why do low-income earners choose to buy in small quantities or smaller sizes? Because it’s about accessibility and purchasing power. This became the foundation of their idea: “Our life costs are not equal.”
Meanwhile, “Team ธรรมดี” (Dhamma Dee) pointed to the issue of inequality in Thai society through the phrase “wealth is concentrated, poverty is dispersed.” It explains that the number of wealthy people in Thailand is only a small cluster, while the number of people in poverty tends to spread and grow. They referenced the World Economic Forum’s indicator, which ranked Thailand 25th out of 110 countries worldwide for inequality.
They also highlighted how inequality causes people in poverty to lose opportunities to access essential services—such as access to formal financial institutions, due to unstable income and the lack of clear proof of earnings; limited access to education; and limited access to quality healthcare.
Their concept revealed sides of poverty that many people overlook—or may not even realize—through the choices that people in poverty are forced to make just to survive. For example: a 9-baht bus fare, a 6-baht instant noodle pack, or turning to informal loans. These options may look cheap, but in reality they are “more expensive than they appear,” because hidden costs sit beneath the surface. And many of them become choices for those who, in truth, have no choice.
“Team 343” expanded the meaning of “poor” through three lenses: Money-poor (low income, pays more), Time-poor (time lost to commuting and waiting in queues), and Opportunity-poor (limited access to education, healthcare, financial services, and the right to choose)
They invited NTLers to become a voice that helps the wider public understand poverty—and people living in poverty—more clearly, so that together we can help drive positive change in society.
To conclude the presentations from all three teams, NTLers—both those attending in person and those watching via Facebook LIVE—were invited to vote for the piece that resonated with them most. Beyond giving the Marketing Communications team a chance to sharpen and refine their ideas and share what happens behind the scenes before a campaign comes to life, the real lesson behind every campaign is this: we must truly understand our customers, so we can deliver the right products and services—using communication as the tool to make that connection.
The session closed with the owner of the brief, Piyasak Ukritnukun, Managing Director of Ngern Tid Lor Public Company Limited, who shared these final remarks before the event ended:
“Over the years, we’ve invested time in instilling our seven core values, and I truly believe that today there is no one at Ngern Tid Lor PLC who doesn’t understand them. But perhaps we still haven’t spent enough time talking about—and reinforcing—our true intent as a company. That intent is what makes us different. And this is one small point we’re trying to communicate: to help our people understand our customers more deeply.
In truth, the word ‘poverty’ may not represent our entire customer base. But we do serve customers who are living in that reality—and there are many of them. What each team presented today may resonate differently with each person, but the purpose is the same. The next question is: once we understand, what can Ngern Tidlor do next—so we can design products and services that truly meet our customers’ needs?
…Our branch teams need to understand which products to recommend in order to reduce risks or solve customers’ problems. Our lending teams must know what our customers look like. Our Operations teams should understand what challenges customers face. And our branch expansion teams need to understand why highly visible, easy-to-find locations matter—because we never want a situation where customers intend to come to us but end up at the wrong company due to confusion or misunderstanding; or they want to reach us but cannot find a branch. That could push them back into the cycle of informal debt, or into unfair services that make their lives even harder.
We need to reinforce this understanding often. Because if every NTLer truly understands this major customer group, we will be able to serve them better—and design better products for them.”
Today’s session served as another reminder of Ngern Tidlor’s good intentions and strong commitment: we do everything to support and uplift people’s quality of life, grounded in the belief that access to fair and transparent financial services is a right everyone deserves. NTLers work with the same belief—coming together to deliver financial opportunities by offering products and services that are suitable for customers, simple, convenient, and fast—so our customers can keep their lives moving forward and keep their finances rolling.
