Despite advancements in automotive safety, the number of traffic incidents is still increasing, indicating a lack of public awareness surrounding the topic.

StopAccidentes’ Memorial Route campaign created a PR buzz around this pressing social issue. How? By transforming an everyday technology into a powerful tool for families affected by road accidents to not only honour the victims but to raise road-safety awareness among the public.

It also proved that an organisation could inspire meaningful movements to help save lives on the road can be achieved without the need for huge budgets.

In Spanish society, like in most others, there is a gap in public awareness regarding road safety. With impressive advancements in technology and vehicle safety standards, shouldn’t the number of lives lost on the roads be decreasing? Sadly, the bitter truth told by data paints a starkly different picture. This discrepancy between progress and reality underscores a disconnect in public awareness and perception.

Many individuals have a false sense of security and fail to recognize the ongoing threat posed by careless driving. Many of Spain's roads remain dangerous, claiming countless lives each year and leaving behind shattered families.

Despite higher safety standards in the automotive world, the number of people who lost their lives in road accidents increased dramatically in 2023. People are simply not aware of the potential dangers and the need for not only safer roads but safer driving, so tragedies continue to occur.

By developing a new idea, we wanted to raise awareness around this topic and prevent accidents, while simultaneously honouring the victims.

What if a victim of a traffic accident could save lives? Memorial Route was more than just a campaign, it was the start of a movement – one that uses technology to empower relatives of road victims to help prevent future accidents.

The Google Maps “Add Missing Place” feature is usually used to highlight places of interest and businesses… until now. We hijacked it and turned it into one that people can use to create digital memorials.

Transforming Spain’s traffic victims into heroes, while honouring them at the same time, Memorial route raises awareness and, most importantly, helps prevent future accidents and save lives.

Memorial Route’s PR strategy revolves around the relatives affected by road accidents sharing personal stories to generate media coverage and raise awareness. And, as StopAccidentes is an NGO with limited financial resources – it was done on a zero-budget.

The initiative began by engaging families who lost loved ones and inviting them to share their personal stories and locations. These stories would serve as powerful testimonials that humanize the issue of road safety and evoke public empathy. By focusing on leading news channels (TV, newspapers, online press), we could ensure maximum visibility and impact.

With the victims' relatives as spokespersons, their stories and interviews provided a platform for the families to share their experiences, advocate for better road safety measures, and promote the Memorial Route initiative.

Additionally, the PR strategy extended to social media platforms, where the families’ personal stories and advocacy efforts are amplified through dedicated posts and videos.

Memorial Route was launched on the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Traffic Accidents and has since become a digital movement.

We invited relatives of accident victims to use Google Maps – the world’s most popular navigation tool – to add a ‘Missing Place’ at the location of the accident and name it after their loved one.

The NGO StopAccidentes then reached out to media outlets to start spreading the word, sharing family members’ interviews, and creating a website to collect all of these tributes in one online memorial. Telling the real stories of Natalia, Pablo and so many others act as a powerful incentive to drive more cautiously and adhere to traffic laws, ultimately preventing future accidents.

As these pins started appearing on drivers’ routes, they were faced with the reality of road accidents and the human lives affected, which got them talking online, generating even more buzz.

Memorial Route broke the silence around road safety. Thousands of people have placed pins on Google Maps so far, all marking the exact spot they lost a loved one. By sharing the victim’s stories, the families are spreading their messages and raising awareness for safer roads.

This campaign became a widely discussed topic all over Spain - on TV, the radio, on social media and in newspapers. It even sparked a debate within the Spanish Parliament around the issue of safer roads.

Generating 315 million impressions and 5.1 million in earned media, Memorial Route has become an open platform for everyone – in Spain and across the globe – to help save lives.

By leveraging the authenticity of the personal testimonials of the victims, Memorial Route showed that even the most impactful initiatives can be done with zero financial investment.

StopAccidentes, an NGO driven by the dedication of volunteers and families impacted by traffic accidents, operates with minimal financial resources. Despite the absence of a substantial budget for conventional advertising, the organisation refuses to wait when it comes to doing something to combat the rising number of road fatalities.

Recognising the power of telling victim’s authentic stories over conventional government traffic campaigns, we created a ground-breaking initiative with 0 budget: the Memorial Route campaign.