Why tech companies chase sports sponsorships, Marketing & Advertising News, ET

In a typical Formula 1 race, the driver is racing at a speed of 300 kilometres per hour. At that breakneck speed, he is in constant communication with two critical elements – the engineers in the pit and a larger team back at the headquarters.

Take the case of the Aston Martin F-1 team. Irrespective of whether the race is happening in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Miami or Las Vegas, there are engineers in the garage (in the pit of that race), who are constantly communicating with the driver. But not a lot of people are aware that the head office for Aston Martin in Silverstone, UK, is constantly buzzing with activity. There, a big team of engineers are constantly monitoring the developments in the track. The three points – the driver talking about his experience of driving the car, the garage pit that is looking at all the real-time data they’re getting on the car and headquarters – are all converging with their inputs and are responsible for every decision that is made in real-time, whether it is coming in for a pitstop, driving harder based on tyre degradation, the battery and how much does the driver want to drain out the battery at a certain point of time, and so on. In the race, all of these decisions are simultaneously happening. These control rooms get access to the data from IoT sensors that are all over the car.

Now, take a step back and imagine the amount of technology that has gone on in that race.

That gives you some idea why tech majors like Cognizant are associated with Formula-1 teams like Aston Martin.

“Imagine having a conversation with the client, which is if I can do this successfully for a car that’s running at 300 kilometers per hour, imagine what I can do for your business. And that in itself becomes an incredibly compelling discussion,” says Gaurav Chand, CMO and EVP at Cognizant that sponsors the Aston Martin F-1 team.

Now swap that scenario of Formula-1 with human beings running a full marathon. Last year, with the New York City Marathon, TCS started an interesting experiment with American long distance runner, Desiree Linden. The tech team at TCS created a digital twin of her heart. Every time she runs, the performance of her heart is measured. Using this she can get more insights on her performance as a runner – when she can run faster, should she slow down and all of that. “The end game in this space will get integrated for many more organs and eventually the whole human body. But the overall intent is to have better health outcomes for the average person,” says Abhinav Kumar, global CMO, TCS. He also predicts that sometime in the near future, consumers will have a digital twin of their heart on their smartphones.

Or take the example of Infosys. The company uses its brand ambassadors –tennis icons Rafael Nadal and Iga Świątek– to assert the brand’s relevance as a digital transformation partner to the world, through its ‘Champions Evolve’ campaign. The campaign reinforces the track record Infosys has in digitally reimagining tennis, through the many brand partnerships it has forged within the ecosystem of the sport including the ATP, Roland Garros, the Australian Open and International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Fans for a lifetime

Another example that tech comes into play is in the space of fan engagement. A lot of sports teams rely on engaging fans to promote merchandise sales. By sorting out the social algorithms, the messaging becomes both sharper and quicker.

That’s where Cognizant tie-up with Aston Martin or the Infosys association with the Madison Square Garden, including key MSG properties New York Knicks, New York Rangers, the Madison Square Garden Arena and Formula E come into play.

Infosys claims to elevate the Knicks’ and Rangers’ fan experience and further connect fans to their teams by delivering in-depth stats during games. In addition, Infosys is partnering with Knicks Gaming, an MSG Sports esports brand. The brand is working with Knicks Gaming to raise the bar for esports — using innovative, data-powered solutions to help improve performance. This includes personalising training content for players through the use of AI to optimise the learning process.

Chand says that the sponsorships also help them with key takeaways that help clients in other businesses. For example, the fan engagement with Aston Martin could present solutions for other online retailers, is one case in point.

Then as Kumar of TCS points out, many of the leading digital transactions are built by tech giants but end consumers only recognise the brand they are using – the tech provider is often hidden in the background.

Sports sponsorships help in making the brand…