White uppercase text reading "THIS RUN MEANS BUSINESS" centered on an orange-to-magenta gradient background.White uppercase text on an orange-to-magenta gradient background reading THIS RUN MEANS BUSINESS

Tata Consultancy ServicesThis Run brand campaign

Service
  1. Campaign and content strategy
Industry
  1. Technology

As a brand that has always celebrated wellness and community spirit, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been a major sponsor and partner of marathons and running events for many years. TCS challenged us to create a single concept that would reinforce the brand’s connection with three European running events and the wider wellness movement, and drive engagement with clients, partners and the running community at large.

As we started to think about what running means to everyone involved – participants, their supporters, spectators and the event organisers – we saw the potential to tap into the emotional experience of taking part. We were inspired by stories of motivation, preparation and achievement and believed these stories had the power to inspire and unite all of these audiences too.

Key to the success of these stories would be authenticity: finding ways to celebrate people and their personal motivations. In some cases this meant providing a platform for people to tell the stories themselves; in others it came down to paring back stories to core motivations. This run is for my dad. This run is for my personal best. This run is for a world without cancer.

Our This Run campaign would ultimately roll out on a dedicated site and a number of associated social channels, with separate sub-campaigns delivered for London and Amsterdam marathons and the Lidingöloppet running event in Stockholm. This Run also took centre stage at expos supporting each event, with large-scale installations and posters promoting runner and supporter apps and reinforcing TCS’s technical role in developing them.

But This Run was always about more than TCS. This Run is for the bigger picture.

Runners pass a large blue banner reading THIS RUN IS YOURS and a white banner reading THIS RUN UNITES US at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon.
A smiling bearded man in a blue cap, blue athletic shirt, and neon sunglasses gives two thumbs up on a sunny outdoor track.
A large pink event banner reading "TIME TO CELEBRATE THIS RUN" in bold black letters above the hashtag #THISRUNAMSTERDAM, with smaller text for TCS Amsterdam Marathon Powered by Digital, and a photo on the left of two women runners hugging.
Crowded indoor exhibition hall with a large blue booth reading THIS RUN UNITES US and many attendees walking between displays.
Three tall banners for the TCS Amsterdam Marathon stand in front of the Rijksmuseum under a cloudy sky. The white banners read “This Run Unites Us,” and the blue banner shows a runner silhouette with “I amsterdam.” A large museum banner advertises a Rembrandt–Velázquez exhibition, with flower beds and pedestrians below.
Black text on a white background reads: THIS RUN IS FOR EVERYONE WHO EVER WONDERED, “WHAT IF?”. THIS RUN IS WHAT GETS US UP IN THE MORNING. THIS RUN IS ABOUT DEFYING THE ODDS. THIS RUN TAKES GUTS. AND PASSION. THIS RUN IS FOR SMALL STEPS. FOR GIANT LEAPS. THIS RUN IS FOR THOSE WHO CAN. AND THOSE WHO CAN’T. THIS RUN IS FOR TODAY. FOR TOMORROW. FOR TOGETHERNESS. FOR THE LEADERS. FOR THE FOLLOWERS. THIS RUN IS OURS. WE’VE ALL GOT OUR REASONS. #THISRUN UNITES US
Collage of creative guideline pages and campaign mockups for the This Run Unites Us running campaign, including manifesto text, logos, photos of runners, apparel, phone screens, posters, billboard, van, and subway ads.

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