Guarded Bus Stop

Eletromidia, the leading company in Brazil’s out-of-home advertising market, has just unveiled the first ten locations for the Abrigo Amigo bus shelter project in São Paulo as part of an initiative developed hand in hand with ad agency AlmapBBDO. Originally dubbed “Guarded Bus Stop,” the project, which was awarded a Gold Lion at Cannes this year, has gained momentum and begun a new phase of expansion, with 100 locations across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Campinas. The project has been made possible thanks to partnerships with brands such as Santander, Vivo, Bradesco Seguros, Sempre Livre, Diageo, and Anhanguera, as well as support from the city and state of São Paulo and the federal government.

With the goal of making everyone, and women in particular, feel safer while waiting alone at bus stops at night, the shelters’ digital advertising displays will be adapted to make video calls after dark. Connected to the internet, with microphones and night-vision cameras, the equipment will go live between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., and will connect whoever’s waiting at the stop with the company’s call center, providing someone to keep them company until their bus comes by. During the day, the screens will display ads normally.

"We’re thrilled about this new stage of the project, which has the potential to make a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people. Eletromidia is dedicated to transforming cities. And in this case, that’s exactly what we’re doing. Abrigo Amigo is an innovative initiative that uses technology to address a major social issue in the daily experience of major urban centers,” says Alexandre Guerrero, the CEO of Eletromidia.

During the first phase, the project will activate ten locations across the city of São Paulo, in a soft roll-out. Then Rio de Janeiro and Campinas will get their first bus stops. The rest of the shelters will be activated in stages, reacting to local information about the demand for the service and the estimated size of the user pool, among other factors. The pilot project, which was implemented in April in the city of Campinas, was expanded with the help of the private sector, as well as government support.

As AlmapBBDO’s executive creative directors, Rafael Gil and Rodrigo Almeida, see it, “Abrigo Amigo is a rare opportunity to align commercial goals with a social purpose. Eletromidia can show the market just how technologically advanced its ads are while also providing a fundamental service for society, and standing by women in their hour of need.”