Flexible transport managers and experienced drivers kept the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games running smoothly for global businesses and broadcasters.
The challenge
Accord - Driving the Game was asked to provide transportation for marketing partners and major international media clients during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This included VISA, P&G, Panasonic, BT, Volkswagen, NBC, CBC, BBC, and many more.
Each client had their own individual itinerary, needs, and preferences, so required a bespoke service. Some requested drivers with specific training and particular shuttles, while others preferred flexible use of cars with no set timetable.
Our solution
Sochi 2014 was the most compact Winter Olympic Games in the history of the Olympic Movement. It was organised over just two locations - coastal and mountain clusters - which made it much easier to transport clients between events.
We built a customised transportation strategy for each client, gave our expert recommendations on the number of vehicles needed, agreed the type of vehicles required, and hired experienced, English-speaking drivers to get them from A to B. NBC alone needed transportation for 1,500 of their staff, so the Accord - Driving the Game team had a huge organisational job on their hands. As always though, they rose to the occasion.
Sochi’s supply of qualified drivers was quickly exhausted, so we recruited from other cities and provided them with accommodation. The first person our clients meet is their driver, so finding the right people with the right experience was crucial. For many of our clients, it was the first trip to Russia and we trained our drivers to make the right first impression on all guests.
Our secret weapon was our high-tech, patented transport management tool - iTransfers. This allowed us to organise the entire transport fleet and keep passengers safe thanks to the tracking abilities of our tool. Many transport companies don’t have access to this level of connectivity and customisation, and we were the only provider in Sochi able to offer it. Volkswagen was also a huge help in Sochi. As one of our event partners, they kindly provided vehicles for the organising committee, helped source drivers, as well as fuel and car wash cards, streamlining the processes for us.
Flexibility was extremely important during the event, so we made it a feature of the iTransfers tool. Each client had a dedicated transport manager who could book cars and transfers straight from the app if the itinerary changed or an extra pick-up was needed.
The results
All our clients were happy with the efficiency of their transportation in Sochi, and we continue to work with them at other global sports events. Many of them recommended us to their colleagues in the sports industry. For example, NBC referred us to its subsidiary, American Spanish-language terrestrial television network Telemundo, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Key stats:
- 4 weeks
- 3000+ guests
- 300 vehicles, 50 VIP coaches, 70 minicoaches
- 600+ employees
- 24/7 bilingual dispatch centre