Emergency Route

JCDecaux is the #1 OOH company in the world, with thousands of advertising faces in every major city. One of those cities, São Paulo, had to deal with a recurring problem: ambulance delay on peak hours, thanks to six million vehicles and 200km of daily traffic. 

VMLY&R Brazil recognized an opportunity to help by combining JCDecaux’s digital billboards and technology.

We created “Emergency Route,” an app that connects the GPS of ambulances to JCDecaux’s digital billboards using GSM bands. The billboards then warn drivers to clear a path for the emergency vehicles.

It works through three easy steps. First, the rescue team sets the route on the app. Then, using real-time data, the app crosses information and alerts the billboards along the way.  When the ambulance is near, the message on the billboard reads “leave the left lane free, an ambulance will come through this route."

The project was implemented with three ambulance companies, starting with billboards on major avenues. In less than a week, our message aired more than 2,000 times, with rescue teams avoiding 4 km of traffic per attendance, on average. A staggering 87% of emergency professionals that used the app felt it was an efficient and empowering solution.