--- title: Capgemini WindSight IQ: turning an America's Cup sponsorship into B2B pipeline | RGM® url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/capgemini-windsight-iq-americas-cup/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/capgemini-windsight-iq-americas-cup/ --- - **Story:** Capgemini built real-time wind-visualization technology for the 37th America’s Cup (Barcelona, 2024) and turned the sponsorship into a B2B pipeline program. Total event reached 92M TV viewers (+37% YoY); 206 tier-1 placements; 30% of target-audience video reach. - **Why it matters:** A modern example of converting an enterprise-services sponsorship into measurable B2B pipeline by leading with a technology demonstration rather than a logo placement. - **Takeaway:** Sponsor where you can demonstrate technical capability live, not just place a logo on a uniform. - **Takeaway:** B2B sponsorships need pipeline-attribution mechanics built in from day one — not added after the fact. - **Takeaway:** Target-audience reach percentage is the right metric; total reach overstates B2B impact. ## WindSight IQ — the four-step story S Situation Capgemini needed a B2B sponsorship that did real work In the lead-up to the 37th America's Cup (Barcelona, 2024), Capgemini was looking for a sponsorship platform that could demonstrate the company's engineering capability to enterprise buyers in aerospace, automotive, finance, and public-services verticals. T Task Build the technology, then turn it into pipeline Most sponsorships are logo placements. Capgemini needed to actually build something visible during the broadcast that proved technical capability, then engineer a B2B pipeline program around it. A Action Build WindSight IQ & the "Seeing Is Believing" campaign Capgemini built WindSight IQ™, a patented real-time wind-visualization overlay used during the Cup broadcast. Built a B2B pipeline-acceleration program around it — client briefings, vertical-specific content, and on-site enterprise hospitality during the regatta. R Result 92M total viewers (+37% YoY), 206 tier-1 placements The 37th America's Cup reached 92M total TV viewers (+37% YoY), with 30% target-audience video reach in Capgemini's priority verticals. 206 tier-1 media placements (60 in tier-1 outlets) and measurable B2B pipeline lift across vertical segments. ## WindSight IQ at a glance 0M Total TV viewers (event) 37th America’s Cup, Barcelona 2024 — +37% YoY Source: America’s Cup official figures 0% Target-audience video reach Aerospace, automotive, finance, public services Source: Capgemini reporting 0 Tier-1 media placements 60 in tier-1 outlets, 146 secondary Source: Capgemini press tracking 0 Event year 37th America’s Cup, Barcelona Source: Sponsorship records 0 Patented technology WindSight IQ™ real-time wind visualization Source: Capgemini IP +0% YoY viewer growth America’s Cup audience expansion partly attributed to viz tech Source: Event analytics #### Quick facts CompanyCapgemini Campaign“Seeing Is Believing” / WindSight IQ™ Sponsorship platform37th America's Cup (Barcelona, 2024) Target audienceAerospace, automotive, finance, public services Total TV viewers (event)92 million (+37% YoY) Target-audience video reach30% Tier-1 media coverage206 placements (60 in tier-1 outlets) Patented technologyWindSight IQ™ real-time wind visualization **Honest note** The 92M total viewers and +37% YoY figures come from official America's Cup audience reporting. The Capgemini-specific reach and placement metrics come from Capgemini's post-campaign analysis. B2B pipeline attribution to specific sponsorship activations is structurally hard to isolate — the case is well documented qualitatively but exact revenue attribution to the WindSight IQ activation versus other Capgemini sales-and-marketing motion isn’t cleanly separable. ## Where Capgemini was in the lead-up to 2024 In the lead-up to the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona, Capgemini was looking for a sponsorship platform that could demonstrate the company's engineering capability to enterprise buyers in priority verticals: aerospace, automotive, finance, and public services. Capgemini is a large global IT-services and consulting firm. The challenge with most B2B sponsorships is that they default to logo placement — the brand appears on uniforms, signage, and broadcast graphics without any substantive demonstration of what the company actually does. The strategic move was to build something during the broadcast that actually showed engineering capability live, then build a B2B pipeline-acceleration program around it. That required building a real technical product, not just buying media placement. ## The build Capgemini built WindSight IQ™, a patented real-time wind-visualization technology that overlaid wind conditions on the live America's Cup broadcast. Viewers could see wind speed, direction, and gust patterns visualized over the racing footage in real time — turning invisible wind into a visible part of the race narrative. The technology was substantive engineering work: real-time data aggregation, low-latency visualization, integration with broadcast feeds, on-water sensor deployment. The sponsorship activation included three layers: - **The technology itself.** WindSight IQ™ was integrated into the official broadcast and visible to viewers globally. It became a part of how the racing was watched and discussed. - **The "Seeing Is Believing" campaign.** Capgemini built a marketing campaign around the technology, with the tagline emphasizing the transformation of invisible data into visible insight — the company’s core consulting promise applied to a high-visibility public stage. - **A B2B pipeline program.** Around the event, Capgemini hosted client briefings, on-site executive hospitality, vertical-specific content, and structured follow-up programs. The sponsorship was the conversation-starter; the pipeline program was where the conversation continued. **Why technical demonstration beats logo placement**Most B2B sponsorships put a logo on a uniform and call it activation. The audience sees the logo and forgets it. Technical demonstrations like WindSight IQ™ let the audience experience what the sponsor actually does, in a high-visibility context where the demonstration is part of the entertainment. The cost is significant — building actual technology costs orders of magnitude more than buying signage — but the brand-recognition and pipeline outcomes are categorically different. For enterprise-services companies, technical demonstrations are one of the few sponsorship activations that produce measurable business outcomes. ## What grew, and what came with it The 37th America's Cup reached 92 million total TV viewers, a 37% year-over-year increase. Capgemini's post-campaign analysis showed 30% target-audience video reach in priority verticals (aerospace, automotive, finance, public services) and 206 tier-1 media placements (with 60 in top-tier outlets). The B2B pipeline program around the event produced significant client engagement across the priority verticals, with the WindSight IQ™ demonstration serving as the conversation-starter for sales engagements that continued long after the event ended. The activation also extended Capgemini’s broader brand position. The technology became a case study Capgemini could use in subsequent sales pitches across industries that needed similar real-time data-visualization capabilities. The marketing investment produced ongoing IP value beyond the immediate sponsorship window. ## What other enterprise-services brands tried to copy Several other enterprise-services and technology firms have tried similar “technology-demonstration sponsorship” activations in subsequent years. Some have worked. Many haven’t produced comparable results. The patterns of failure are consistent: - The technology wasn't substantive. Activations that involved technology that didn’t actually do anything (or was clearly off-the-shelf) produced engagement at par with logo placement. - No B2B pipeline program. Activations that ended at the broadcast without follow-up structures didn’t produce business outcomes — the sponsorship reach became awareness without measurable pipeline impact. - Wrong sponsorship vehicle. Capgemini’s target audience was credibly aligned with America's Cup viewership (high-income, engineering-interested, global enterprise leaders). Sponsorships in less-aligned venues didn’t reach the same audience. - Too narrow a target. Capgemini built activation for four specific verticals. Companies that tried to activate broadly without segmented vertical strategies diluted the impact. ## How RGM thinks about enterprise sponsorship activation When clients in enterprise services ask about sports sponsorship activation, the Capgemini case is useful as a structural example. The investment level required to do it well is significant — building actual technology, integrating with broadcast infrastructure, running on-site B2B programs. The returns are real, but only when the activation goes beyond logo placement. Sponsorships that default to logo placement produce brand-awareness lift that rarely converts to enterprise pipeline. The honest framework: technical demonstration sponsorships work for enterprise-services brands when the technology is genuinely impressive, the broadcast venue reaches the right audience, the B2B pipeline program is structured before the event, and the activation produces IP that has value beyond the immediate event. Without all four, the sponsorship is mostly logo placement at higher cost. ## Frequently asked questions How does WindSight IQ™ actually work? WindSight IQ™ aggregates wind-sensor data from on-water sources around the race course in real time, processes it through Capgemini-built algorithms, and renders the resulting wind visualization as an overlay on the broadcast feed. The technical challenge is doing all of that with low enough latency that the visualization matches what viewers see happening on the water. Did the technology actually affect the broadcast? Yes — it was integrated into the official broadcast and visible to viewers globally throughout the race coverage. It became part of how commentators discussed the racing and how viewers understood why certain tactical decisions worked. The technology was an actual component of the event, not just a branded overlay. How much did the activation cost? Capgemini hasn’t publicly disclosed total activation cost. The investment included sponsorship fees, technology development, on-water sensor infrastructure, broadcast integration, and the surrounding B2B pipeline program. The total is meaningful relative to a normal marketing campaign and aligns with enterprise-services sponsorship at flagship-event scale. What was the pipeline impact? Capgemini has reported substantial client engagement across priority verticals during and after the event, but exact pipeline-revenue attribution to the WindSight IQ™ activation isn’t publicly disclosed (and is structurally hard to isolate from other Capgemini sales-and-marketing motion). The qualitative impact is well documented; the quantitative pipeline impact is real but private. Could other brands do this? Yes, in categories where the brand can build something genuinely substantive that shows capability. Enterprise-services brands, technology platforms, and certain industrial brands all have natural alignments with this activation model. Consumer-products brands typically don't have the same alignment — their products don't need technical demonstration in the same way. ### Sources & references - [Capgemini — WindSight IQ™](https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/windsight-iq/) — Capgemini’s own page on the technology and activation. - [37th America's Cup official site](https://www.americascup.com/) — Event reference with audience-reach data. - [Capgemini investor relations](https://investors.capgemini.com/) — Capgemini’s corporate financial-and-strategy disclosures. ## Related [#### All case studies The full case-study library.](/learn/case-studies/)[#### Red Bull Stratos Another brand-funded engineering spectacle.](/learn/case-studies/red-bull-stratos-jump/)[#### Drift B2B SaaS category-creation work.](/learn/case-studies/drift-conversational-marketing/)[#### Qualcomm Developer First Another B2B technology-led marketing redesign.](/learn/case-studies/qualcomm-developer-first/)