News Broadcasting
Essel creates single division to handle all corporate communications
NEW DELHI: In a major communications overhaul, the Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group has decided to create a signature group under Corporate Brand Development Group (CBDG) for all the brands in the group as a corporate brand.
Ashish Kaul, till recently the corporate communication head of another Chandra company, ASC Enterprsies, would be heading this newly-formed group at the corporate level as well as for each brand as vice-president. Kaul, who was working with the Agrani group for over four years, has been transferred to Essel Group to lead this mammoth exercise.
This discipline is distinct from the marketing activity currently being handled by the marketing team of each business/brand. This function would be fully operational towards the end of July 2003. The brands that this group will handle will include all Zee brands, Alpha brands, Playwin, Zee Education, Essel World, Water Kingdom, Fun Republic, Essel Propack Ltd., and the Agrani group.
Considering the sheer size of the Essel Group and the number of brands and sub-brands that the group has, it is perhaps the largest communications overhaul exercise ever undertaken by a company of this size.
Essel Group has interests in old and new economy businesses ranging from packaging, theme parks, multiplexes, cable distribution, content/broadcast, telecom infrastructure, IT retailing, satellite infrastructure and wireless services.
Presently, a team is being put in place and preference is being given to nourish and upgrade in-house talent. “The theme of this exercise would be to reach a situation where my communications audit tells me that every individual in the entire group has become a brand ambassador of the group.
We would also strive to streamline the messaging systems of the group and our attempt would be to align the message with experience. This cannot be achieved only by effective external communication management but impetus will be given to developing internal communications in association with the various HR divisions of the group,” Kaul told indiantelevision.com.
Corporate Brand Development Group would be responsible for external and internal communications of the Essel Group. The current arrangements of the group will continue till the transition is completed in a phased manner. Corporate Brand Development would access the needs of each brand and sub-brand within the group and deploy a person or a group of people to service that brand or group of brands. The representatives of these brands would be allocated to respective companies for administrative purposes and policy-wise the CBDG would report directly to Chandra.
In a career spanning about 10 years Kaul has been exposed to telecom, satellite infrastructure, chemicals and petrochemicals, media and IT sectors. As an assistant manager, corporate communications with IndusInd Media ( Hinduja Group ), Kaul has been exposed to various brands like the CVO Movie Channel and Gulf Oil. Apart from media management on national and international level, Kaul has been associated with event management on behalf of his organisations and has been instrumental in launching a Social Communications programme in Uttar Pradesh promoting Social Forestry schemes and Rural medical programmes on behalf of SVC Superchem.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
