Thread by @KShriniwasRao

#Thread : )

Was torn between two threads I’ve been wanting to do. One on Royal Challengers Bangalore (#RCB) and another on franchises in general who’ve time and again fallen behind in the race to catch up with some other leading teams.
But let me settle for RCB right now. (1/25)

Why RCB? Several reasons, but none more important than this: In 2016, when Diageo took control of RCB following Mallya’s exit, it became the only corporate-run franchise -- not owned by a family or consortium of families or a family-run business enterprise – in the #IPL. (2/25)

Now we have CVC Capital owning the Ahmedabad team. But until now, RCB was the only such entity.

There are positives and negatives to this.
Positives: To be run by management professionals alone; Negative: Risk of vision changing each time the management changed. (3/25)

Diageo didn’t just buy into RCB’s future. They bought into the past too. Any company that walks into a business, walks in with a vision. In that context, today’s RCB – from a brand-building POV – is still only a five-going-on-six. Young. Prior to that, it was Mallya's. (4/25)

So, they still have work to do. We’ll look at the uniqueness of RCB’s brand, the positives it has going for itself, some interesting things it has done lately but how, none of this has resulted in on-field success. In that context, we’ll look at the upcoming auctions too. (5/25)

Why’s the RCB brand unique? Here’s where Mallya’s vision mattered. The man knew one thing: In a country like India, where alcohol is big business but social taboo, companies manufacturing, and marketing alcohol would have to depend on a good deal of surrogate advertising. (6/25)

Franchise cricket is a rare ecosystem where from cap to shoes, jerseys and trousers, bat, wickets, gloves, elbow guards – almost everything can be branded. I’m surprised why no franchise has thought about wearing a cape yet! (kidding). Surrogate advt doesn’t get better. (7/25)

Kingfisher on cap, McDowell on jersey, Black & White on trousers – I’m just saying this as an example. The brands get so much visibility. Just to give you an idea, a company like Pepsi spends Rs 400-plus crore just on advertising and promotions. IPL franchise was a steal. (8/25)

There was a method to Mallya’s madness. It’s the airlines business that led to his fall. But on every other front, he was quite a visionary. Even the parties he hosted weren’t just about socializing. He was a brand-ambassador of his own life-style that he tried selling. (9/25)

RCB was a product of that vision but by the time Diageo bought it, that vision had faded because of reasons beyond anyone’s control. They had little choice but to begin afresh. And on that front, they’ve been pretty impressive over the last few years off-the field. (10/25)

RCB’s biggest disadvantage is that they’ve not been able to lay their hands on the trophy yet. For a franchise that has always enjoyed a very good ecosystem and fan-base, this has been the biggest disappointment. It is imperative they work on it with a sense of urgency. (11/25)

We’ll come to the cricket bit later. Let’s get done with off-the-field aspects first. From the outside, here's what I can see: no franchise has done better on fronts like social media engagements, producing quality content, positioning of the brand, etc, more than them. (12/25)

Ask the broadcasters, they’ll tell you. 14 years in IPL, having played three finals, they still haven’t won it. And yet, when matches get scheduled every year, broadcaster and sponsors want RCB to either play the opening game if possible or at least have weekend clashes. (13/25)

Says a thing or two about how, despite the lack of success on field, they’ve stitched together a neat structure off it. The day RCB wins a trophy, all these off-the-field elements will add up. The brand will get a massive shot-in-the-arm and RCB knows what's at stake. (14/25)

Look at Mr Nag’s RCB videos. Danish Sait is a rage on social media platforms. Their content and digital team is a highly appreciated one. They’ve just started a podcast too and you know you can expect quality. They’ve invested in it. Now they need to invest in a team. (15/25)

Virat has been RCB's eternal saving grace. ABD too, but now he's left. I’ll pay good money to watch Virat. I’d have paid twice over, when Virat & ABD both were around. Gayle’s contribution was terrific. Gladiators in the arena look good, surely. But titles matter. (16/25)

Showmanship has been exceptional, and it has worked amazingly too. But, as much as fans value that, they want to experience what success tastes like – the pride in being champions. RCB owes it to the fans. From that perspective, let’s look at auctions and their cricket. (17/25)

In 2020, RCB paid Rs 10 cr for Chris Morris. In 2021, they thought they were overpaying so they let him go. Then they went after Morris again, up to Rs 9.75 cr. Morris was eventually bought by RR for Rs 16.25 cr but that’s for another day. But what was RCB thinking? (18/25)

They’ve made some good decisions in the past though. In 2014, their shelling out Rs 14 cr for Yuvraj was understandable. Player of the 2011 World Cup, all-round option, and a big brand. Unfortunately, things didn’t work the way they should have. (19/25)

Tymal Mills, Chris Woakes, Dinesh Karthik – they had good signings, but it didn’t bring results. RCB has to go back to the drawing board and figure why? They’ve let go of Yuzi Chahal this time. Time will tell if it was the right thing. Personally, I wasn’t too convinced. (20/25)

In the past, Moeen Ali & Marcus Stoinis were assets RCB let go. Yes, they’ve backed some young Indian names over the years. But frankly, there’s been too much pressure on Virat & ABD. At one point, it looked like outside of these two, the batting simply lacked any punch. (21/25))

Now ABD has gone too, and Virat has quit captaincy. While Virat can start looking at his role differently, it is time for RCB to make some right choices in the auction. The most imp bit here is find a good leader. No team is spoilt for choices. RCB must plan this well. (22/25)

The second bit: You can’t replace ABD but can give it your second best shot – get Ishan Kishan. Of course, he won’t come easy right now. But, RCB must see how far they can go for him. They could eye him as a future captain too. Planning has to be everything. (23/25)

Who else, if not Ishan? Shreyas is a good choice, did well at DC. Or an overseas name? Most franchises don’t prefer an overseas captain. Branding of the leadership role is one of the reasons. But if RCB wants to approach this differently, Jason Holder’s a good choice. (24/25)

So, here’s hoping RCB makes the right choices at the auction and finds success on the field -- the only thing that matters to them right now. Because when they do, they’ll be right up there with the best. The rest of the ecosystem has been ticking healthily for sure. (25/25)