Typically, when a company decides to sponsor a major event, it is looking to build awareness throughout a broad cross section of consumers for its products. So when TCS, the tech services unit of Tata Group, a large Indian conglomerate that is hardly a household name in the U.S., first announced it would be the title sponsor of the New York City marathon in 2013, it was a bit of a head-scratcher.
After all, TCS sells its services to businesses, not individual consumers, nor is it in the running business. But on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the first race in that sponsorship, which has since been renewed through 2029, TCS chief marketing officer Abhinav Kumar says it has been a massive success. “It’s a phenomenal, phenomenal event for engagement,” Kumar tells Fortune in an interview over Zoom , speaking from his office in Brussels. Kumar cites a statistic from an outfit called Brand Finance, saying that the TCS brand is now worth $19.2 billion, up almost ninefold from 2010, thanks in large part to growing awareness of the name.
When TCS announced the sponsorship with the New York City marathon organizer, New York Road Runners, it was already the sponsor of a race in Mumbai, where it is headquartered, and the Amsterdam marathon. But it was also sponsoring events in other sports like cricket, and TCS realized it would be better off concentrating its efforts in one sport. (It still sponsors a Formula E event, but otherwise it’s focused on running.)…