Brands
TCS surges with record-breaking $ 2 billion brand value growth
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) has been rated as the second most valuable IT services brand in the world in the 2024 Global 500 IT services ranking by Brand Finance. Steered by steady investments in AI readiness and a commitment to sustainability, TCS’ brand value has surged to $19.2 billion from $17.2 billion in 2023, a strong growth of 11.5 per cent YoY. The incremental $ two billion growth is the highest absolute growth posted among the world’s top 25 leading IT firms.
TCS has made significant investments over the past decades to expand the global footprint of its brand. These include strengthening its presence at major industry and business forums, in digital channels and social media, boosting its leadership status in Industry analyst reports, its voice in thought leadership and a series of other actions.
In a first such foray seen in the technology sector, TCS has built up the world’s largest sponsorship portfolio of 12 marathons and running platforms, which include iconic events such as the TCS New York City Marathon, the Tata Mumbai Marathon, the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, among others. Recently, it has further strengthened this portfolio, by adding the TCS London Marathon and the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Every year, over 600,000 runners participate in TCS-sponsored endurance running races in major cities across the world, and billions watch these events in broadcast across the world and through the mobile apps built by TCS.
Artificial Intelligence: TCS’ AI strategy is built on strengthening capabilities across its value chains and helping customers realize its transformative potential. Over 150,000 employees have already been trained in basic GenAI competencies. To empower its employees in AI skillsets further, TCS launched an AI Experience Zone for its workforce. Leveraging its marathon platform, TCS partnered with champion marathoner Des Linden ahead of the TCS New York City Marathon to create a digital twin of her heart. This twin can offer a new method for health measurement and transform the training experience, thereby opening possibilities for real-time, personalized healthcare, by leveraging digital twins, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Sustainability: TCS has charted a clear path to attain Net Zero Emissions goals of reducing its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Aligning its marketing efforts to this objective, TCS also collaborated with the Council for Responsible Sport, to build the ReScore app – a first-of-its-kind digital application that helps sports organizations worldwide to measure and certify their sustainability performance. The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and the TCS London Marathon have already achieved Evergreen and Gold standards on this platform. TCS also supports the world’s first all-electric racing series, Formula E, through the Jaguar TCS Racing team. This partnership catalyzes electrification, advancing efforts towards reduced carbon emissions and fostering sustainable mobility.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
