An inspiring blend of human emotion, strategic marketing, and invisible tech power

When you think of B2B marketing, especially from a global tech leader like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), what comes to mind? Case studies? ROI charts? Enterprise-grade jargon?

Now picture this instead: a client crossing the finish line of the New York City Marathon, hand-in-hand with his wife, both beaming with pride. She just completed her first marathon. A TCS executive captures the moment on camera. That photo now hangs in their living room.

For most tech service companies, this level of emotional connection with a client is rare. But for TCS, it’s intentional – and it’s the future of B2B marketing.

A Global Giant with a Hyper-Focused Audience

TCS is a $30 billion powerhouse with over 600,000 employees across 55 countries. Despite this massive scale, the company’s client base is surprisingly focused: around 1,400 clients and roughly 10,000 individuals worldwide who make decisions about hiring TCS.

This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. With such a small, elite target audience, mass marketing tactics don’t work. Instead, everything TCS does is designed to build trust, deepen relationships, and stay top-of-mind with those 10,000 people.

And that’s where marathons come in.

Why Marathons? Because the Clients Run

According to Abhinav Kumar, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of TCS, the company experimented with various sports sponsorships including Formula 1, cricket, and cycling. But it was running that unlocked the deepest engagement.

“In F1, clients were spectators, enjoying the race with a drink. But in marathons, our clients are the athletes. It’s about them. Their training. Their finish line.”

This shift—from spectator sport to participant experience—transformed how TCS interacts with clients. Marathons are personal, emotional, and goal-driven. Business leaders who participate aren’t watching from the stands. They’re sweating, pushing boundaries, and overcoming obstacles—just like in their professional lives.

A Global Marathon Footprint

TCS now sponsors 14 major marathons globally, including iconic races in New York, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Sydney.

Each year, around 4,000 clients and 8,000 employees take part in these races.

Running has become a shared language between TCS and its stakeholders. And importantly, it’s inclusive and rapidly growing—especially among executives and business decision-makers, a trend TCS identified and leveraged early.

Humanizing a Tech Brand

Technology is often invisible. The average person never sees the backend systems, algorithms, or infrastructure behind their everyday digital experiences. TCS embraces this challenge by showcasing its invisible tech through a tangible, emotional, real-world experience: marathons.

For instance, TCS develops the official race apps for the events it sponsors. These apps let users track runners in real time, predict finish times, and navigate the race environment. Families and friends gather at finish lines based on alerts from the app, powered by TCS.

“You can’t always show what we do. Our software is invisible. But the experience of running a race powered by our technology – that’s real,” says Kumar.

Storytelling with a B2C Soul

While TCS operates in the enterprise space, its marketing strategies echo B2C playbooks. The brand tells human-centric stories that inspire trust and emotional connection. This shift recognizes a vital truth: B2B isn’t business-to-business, it’s human-to-human.

“There’s often a misconception in B2B that you’re selling to an organization. But you’re not. You’re selling to people. And people want to feel inspired,” Kumar adds.

The success of brands like Mastercard—which has opened restaurants, launched fragrances, and even created a sonic brand identity—proves that even B2B companies can stand out by embracing creativity and emotion.

Innovation on the Run

TCS doesn’t stop at sponsorship. It uses marathons as testing grounds for innovation.

One standout initiative is the Future Athlete project, developed in partnership with marathon champion Des Linden. This includes the world’s first digital twin of a human heart, tracking 27 advanced parameters like tissue movement, blood circulation, and stress. It helps runners optimize performance, but its real potential lies in personalized healthcare and early diagnosis—a leap from race-day tech to life-saving applications.

Purpose-Driven Participation

Beyond clients and tech, TCS uses marathons to inspire communities and empower the next generation.

In London, the TCS Mini Marathon lets schoolchildren run the same iconic finish line as elite athletes.For each child participant, £10 is donated to their school.Students return with medals, celebrated in school assemblies, motivated to lead healthier lives.

TCS also runs STEM initiatives in schools, hosts coding competitions, trains teachers, and supports curriculum development—all to address the growing global shortage of tech talent, especially in cybersecurity.

Measuring Sustainability: The ReScore App

Marathons are large-scale events with an undeniable carbon footprint. TCS is tackling this challenge with the ReScore app, developed in collaboration with the Council for Responsible Sport. It helps race organizers track and improve their sustainability metrics.

Thanks to this initiative, the London Marathon is now certified at the highest level for environmental responsibility—a huge win for eco-conscious branding.

Lessons for B2B Marketers

Abhinav Kumar offers a piece of advice for other B2B marketers:

“There’s still a sea of sameness in B2B. A tendency to play it safe. But the brands that win are the ones willing to take risks, be disruptive, and create experiences that move people.”

By blending emotion, storytelling, innovation, and social impact, TCS has turned marathons into a powerful branding engine that generates real, lasting relationships with the people who matter most.

The Ticket9 Takeaway

At Ticket9, we believe in the power of experiential connection. Events—whether they’re marathons, concerts, workshops, or conferences—create emotional memories that go beyond marketing.

TCS’s marathon strategy proves that brand loyalty starts with human stories, not sales pitches. If you’re an organizer or marketer, take a page from their playbook. Make your audience the hero. Deliver experiences that make your brand unforgettable.

Because when your brand is part of someone’s personal triumph, it’s no longer just a service—it’s a memory.

This article is inspired by insights originally shared in The Drum.