Before the start of the volunteer selection process to recruit 25,000 volunteers for the Games in Sochi, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has launched the "VolunTour" advertising and informational campaign. The plan is to attract up to 200,000 people to the vol.sochi2014.com website by the end of 2012. The campaign will be mainly online, with banners, planned viral projects, activity on social networking sites and other promotional tools. Outdoor advertising will also be used in 14 regions of the country; the adverts will be collages of "ideal" candidates for the Olympic and Paralympic volunteer teams with Olympic stadiums in the background. The campaign is aimed at people with a proactive attitude and first of all at young people who will be at least 18 by the time the Games open in Sochi.  

The concept of the advertising campaign is to inform the public about the work of volunteers using eye-catching and humorous techniques. The "faces" and "voices" of the campaign are members of the Sochi 2014 volunteer team. They tell their peers what Olympic volunteers can expect during the Games. The concept of the campaign also reflects the idea behind the Sochi2014.ru brand, which is based on the idea that every resident of the country will be involved in the Games in Sochi, and which reflects the duality of the Russian character and unity in diversity. The communication plays on the unity of contrasts and opposites. The "Hot and cold" contrast highlights that for the first time the winter Olympics will be held at what is traditionally a summer resort. The made-up "VolunTour" travel agency offers Sochi, a well-known for all Russians resort, as a place to work.  

The advertising campaign will be implemented by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee and the 26 regional Sochi 2014 Volunteer Centers, as well as the Games' Partners and NGOs. The advertising materials will be adapted to suit their location. For example, in regions with a majority Muslim population, the female volunteers on the billboards will wear dresses rather than swimsuits. The campaign will be supported by the administrations of the cities which have Sochi 2014 Volunteer Centres.  

Display adverts in the Internet will be placed on the most popular sites and sites dealing with relevant themes in order to ensure that maximum of the target audience is reached. Several special projects will be held to ensure a strong emotional involvement. These include attracting young people's attention through campaigns on social networking sites. During the campaign, interactive, viral and game-based techniques will be used to attract the target audience.  

Notes to the editor

The volunteer selection process will begin on February, 7, 2012. From that day candidates can register on the vol.sochi2014.com website. An estimated 25 thousand volunteers will be involved during the Games in Sochi in more than 20 areas of activity, from meeting delegations at the airport to helping organise the Closing Ceremony. Altogether, the volunteers make up about 35% of the total number of Games personnel.  

Volunteer recruitment will be handled through 26 Volunteer Centres, established at Russian educational institutions selected in competition.