Capgemini’s sponsorship campaign at the most recent edition of the Ryder Cup has won the inaugural Sponsorship Works Award from SportBusiness.
Capgemini is worldwide partner to the Ryder Cup until 2027. ‘Outcome IQ’, part of the company’s innovative, technology-led sponsorship activation at the biennial team golf tournament, was selected in a public vote from three shortlisted candidates.
The custom-built tool, combining artificial intelligence (AI) with a deep understanding of the game, delivered insightful in-game analysis, enabling fans to analyse past player performance and project how various team pairings might play out during the actual competition.
SportBusiness launched the Sponsorship Works Award last year to recognise the most creative and innovative sponsorship activation work from across the global sports industry.
The campaign saw off strong competition from a purpose-led campaign by Paddy Power at the World Darts Championship and a mass participation initiative from Orange France and Havas Play at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Capgemini was supported by the rEvolution agency and the Ryder Cup’s in-house partnerships and technology teams for Outcome IQ’s roll-out.
The SportBusiness Sponsorship editorial team and event partner SponsorLab shortlisted the top three activations against criteria of ‘creativity and innovation’ and ‘performance against results’, as well as considering other less tangible qualities.
SponsorLab is an online performance management platform created to help brands, agencies and rights-holders drive more impactful partnerships.
The company’s founder and managing director, Bruce Cook, provided his critical perspective on the winner, which he viewed as a highly successful example of a technology integration.
“It’s really difficult to create a new piece of tech that isn’t just a gimmick but is meaningful for both the fans and the media, especially with something like the Ryder Cup where all the focus is on the red and blue scores,” he said.
“Capgemini’s AI-powered ‘Outcome IQ’ probability graphics featured 41 times in the broadcast coverage and only had a contractual obligation for 15 times. That says it really enhanced the broadcasts while achieving a huge reach in terms of media exposure. Their external PR and digital content also proved incredibly effective alongside a strong staff engagement programme. A very comprehensive campaign.”
The judging panel drew the shortlist from the 27 different activation case studies published by SportBusiness Sponsorship in 2024. These case studies provided detailed analysis of the planning, execution and outcomes of some of the most innovative campaigns delivered by agencies and rights-holders from across the industry.
SportBusiness Sponsorship is already publishing case studies for consideration towards the 2025 Sponsorship Works Awards and invites interested parties to submit their creative work to European editor Matthew Glendinning: matthew.glendinning@sportbusiness.com
To read about this year’s winner, or the two other shortlisted case studies, click here.
NB: Capgemini and Paddy Power activations took place in late 2023 but the full results from the campaigns were collated and published in 2024.