Driver Mitch Evans pilots one of the Jaguar TCS Racing team cars in Formula E. As a primary sponsor, ... [+]
Global consulting firm TCS is the primary sponsor of Jaguar’s Formula E team. A peek inside the deal shows the anatomy of how companies seek their return on investment as a sports sponsorship deal.
Still in relative infancy, Formula E, the global all-electric open-wheel racing series, has one doubleheader event left at the end of its 10th season. Unique in its technology and green initiatives, the series is a unique platform for companies that are considering sports sponsorships.
Located in n Mumbai, India, as part of Tata Group, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has grown into a multinational IT services and consulting company with 150 locations across 46 countries. Targeting sports sponsorships, they’ve initially targeted marathons and running events as a way to showcase.
Becoming the primary sponsor of a motorsports team increases the company’s sports sponsorship portfolio further.
Sponsorship deals can seek very different metrics to suit a company’s needs. Is it about elevating brand exposure through fan attendance and races on television? Is it a partnership where there is some direct service that is tied to the team being sponsored? Is it a way to reach new customers or reinforce relationships with ones that already exist? For TCS, they touch most all of it.
“The first thing is the sustainability,” said Anupam Singhal, President and Business Group Head, Manufacturing at TCS. “It is a big focus for TCS or the Tata Group. We believe the energy transition is one of the biggest trends that is going to be shaping all the companies in the manufacturing secotor, or any company in the next few years. So for Formula E and what they promote centers on complete sustainability. We believe first is to our goal, and it's great for us to be to be promoting that because not only does it showcase a sustainable environment side by side, it is inspiring lot of young kids young students who would like to pick up a STEM career.”
“For us, Formula E is a great complement to our sports sponsorship portfolio,” said Michelle Taylor, Head of Sports Sponsorship for TCS about their primary sponsorship with the Jaguar Formula E team. “It reaches areas endurance running isn't serving, but it gives us for other specific things. So it really comes down to us in alignment with the core values of our company, and how we can leverage it around who we are and what we do and telling the story.”
That story is a key component of what sports sponsorships are providing to the companies which make the partnership investment. Formula E checks the boxes on a number of fronts: it’s focus is on green initiatives and sustainability; it’s a technology proving ground where software and data improve performance on the track, and; the Formula E series is global allowing brand exposure, as well as B2B or B2C partnerships to grow through hospitality at the track.
For brand exposure and relationship building, Formula E provides a significant footprint for TCS.
“With this one partnership, we suddenly we're able to activate in all markets and be able to localize and message, engage clients in different markets around the globe, “Taylor added. “Our partnership is a ‘clean’ engagement. It's really rare to sign one deal and get such a global footprint.
For TCS, that also means engaging with a sport in Formula E that centers on sustainability, and innovation. “That tech-forward approach is, is really like a magical match,” Taylor said.
From a global perspective, activating the sponsorship comes with contests, engaging TCS employees by inviting them to the races throughout the year. And then also on TCS’ manufacturing side, the global series schedule allows employees and execs to come to races in markets the company serves.
As to the return on investment, TCS takes a layered approach. There is a brand exposure through telecasts. But one key aspect that Taylor said doesn’t have a traditional KPI is, again, telling the story.
“How are we reaching our clients?” Taylor said. “That's really important to us, it doesn't always show up on the traditional ROI. How are we using the platform to tell stories? For us that is one of the priorities of partnerships. And in practice, it's that storytelling tells the story of what we're doing, whether it's about cloud, or other services. And Formula E is a way to tell it in an the interesting lens of motorsports. That’s important to our partners in banking, finance, manufacturing, insurance… everybody can relate to, because it's, it's necessity for every business.”
