TCS's work culture is legendary, and WITCH veterans like me, like scores of tech professionals credit these giants - employing over a million - for their foothold in the industry. But this post is not about work at TCS’, but rather their marketing outreach.
Many of us have heard and seen clips of TCS sponsoring marathons in major global centres including the TCS New York City Marathon, London and the newly inducted TCS Sydney Marathon – all an effort by Corporate Marketing to get the brand out there. Until this year I hadn’t heard of yet another outreach in India - the TCS InQuizitive, a quiz series for highschoolers.
TCS InQuizitive, a national quiz for grades 8-12, covers current affairs, science, tech, business, arts, and culture to build critical thinking. My son and his partner reached the Bengaluru regionals in August 2025, a buzzing event at Chowdiah Memorial Hall with 546 teams from 93 schools across Bengaluru and nearby cities like Mysore and Goa.
Tata branding shone through SWAG: Taj Yeshwanthpur lunch vouchers, ₹25K Chroma vouchers, and Starbucks goodies - ensuring kids link these perks to the Tata Brand. The intent of the event and goodies was simple - If not anything else, the kids of his generation will remember the assorted companies under the TATA umbrella.
While I didn’t accompany him for the finals in Mumbai, I followed up online. If you think getting 12 regional finalists and their teachers from around the country to travel to Mumbai is not-trivial exercise, add the curve ball thrown over the Indigo fiasco. To their credit, TCS and their travel agents scrambled to arrange Air India bookings – another TATA brand - for affected participants. Son’s return trip that was scheduled on Indigo on 7th Dec. One can imagine the cost of doing that alone.
The finals took place at The President IHCL SeleQtions - another Tata group gem - with the vibrant quiz host Giri and his team flown in to orchestrate the event.
From chauffeured pickup – with guys holding placard of participant’s names at the Airport – to a drop back, the kids gathered memories of a “five star” experience that is sure to last a lifetime.
Engaging youth through non-digital endeavours is commendable in today's screen-dominated world. As a parent, the well-orchestrated TCS InQuizitive series - from Bengaluru regionals to the Mumbai finale - left me deeply impressed. As a former WITCH veteran, I was captivated by TCS's savvy offline branding efforts that stand out amid the digital deluge.
So, here's a simple Thank You TCS.
