Infosys also announced a social impact partnership that will extend to the Carlos Alcaraz Foundation for tech-for-good initiatives.
But why Alcaraz? Infosys highlighted that he’s the youngest man to hit World No 1 in tennis and complete a career Grand Slam, with seven Grand Slam titles. The company linked his “relentless drive, consistency, integrity” to Infosys’ own values. Alcaraz, in turn, was quoted as saying, “At the highest level, small details make a big difference, and leveraging AI-driven insights will help elevate my game further”. This fits well with Infosys’s broader sports-tech push. The company is already the digital innovation partner for the ATP Tour, the Australian Open, and Roland-Garros. Alcaraz gives them a global Gen-Z face to show off Topaz/AI in action.
But Infosys hardly ever advertises in mass media. One’s never really seen an advertising campaign in print, or on TV or in digital ever espousing all that Infosys is saying, including focus on “relentless drive, consistency, integrity”. So where exactly will the new ambassador be featured or showcased? Board meetings? Customer meets? Launch events? If so, it would be a gross under-utilisation of Carlos Alcaraz, who one can be sure would have cost at least a couple of million dollars.
Infosys + Alcaraz is part of a bigger trend wherein Indian tech firms are using global sports tie-ups to show off their tech and give their brand a halo. And demonstrate global size and scale. And relevance. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been the title sponsor of the NYC Marathon since 2014. Also title sponsor for London Marathon, Amsterdam Marathon, Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and has committed more than $320 million to marathons over 2022-2029 period. HCLTech does similar sponsorships of the MetLife Stadium, the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Tech Mahindra has a joint venture with FIDE for a global chess league. Through Mahindra Racing, it provides eRace track analytics, AI-driven insights, and wind-tunnel simulations for electric vehicle (EV) racing. Its partnership with Loughborough University is what some call a collab with the “world’s best university for sport” on 5G, AR/VR and sports tech. Wipro too did its bit by sponsoring Chelsea FC way back in 2015. IT experts say these tie-ups leverage sports as a brand-building channel to tap into fans’ emotional connect and elevate brand awareness. The companies get to showcase their actual products — AI, 5G, cloud, analytics — in action during live sports. Honestly, though, one has never really been able to figure the “why” of these big ticket tie-ups except perhaps VVIP hosting of clients and associates for “experiences money cannot buy”.
Back to Alcaraz. International celebrity ambassadors are not new to India. Tata Motors/JLR used Lionel Messi in 2015-2018. Tiger Woods in 2014-2018 fronted Hero MotoCorp’s “There’s a Hero in All of Us” campaign as they went global. Diego Simeone has been the brand ambassador for Hero’s football properties. Micromax used Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador during 2013-2014 to signal its “international quality.” Thums Up used Jackie Chan in the early 2000s for “Thunder se darr lagta hai”. Kingfisher calendar shot with Naomi Campbell and Eva Longoria for special editions. And MRF Tyres has had AB de Villiers, Brian Lara and Steve Waugh, all cricket legends, as brand ambassadors. To these consumer facing brands, these international celebrities surely provided a global aura.
B2B companies hiring global celebrities at colossal prices, however, does not really make sense. Alcaraz included. It does give bragging rights to Infosys, and affords perhaps a couple of hi-profile fora for the company’s top brass and valued customers to hug-and-kiss the celebrity. But minus the imperative of running a mass media campaign that actually features Carlos Alcaraz, Infosys would find it difficult as a listed company to justify what real use it would put him to, especially given his endorsement fee that obviously is not inconsequential.
Finally, often ego trips such as this boil down to “have-money-will-spend”. Infosys at $20 billion can afford to splurge a couple of million on celebrity facetime. So be it.
The author is chairman, Rediffusion
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