E18 executed the IBN7 Guru Shishya Awards, an IBN7 property, on Aug 9 at Taj Palace, New Delhi and The Real Heroes Awards, a CNN-IBN property, on Aug 17 at Hotel Trident, Mumbai.

The objective of the Guru Shishya Awards was to felicitate the everlasting bond between a mentor and student, highlighting the achievements of the student that has made their mentor proud. The event was graced by the presence of Kapil Sibal, Honorable Cabinet Minister of Human Resource Development, Communication and IT, who felicitated the winning duos in nine categories. The categories ranged from sports, education and public service to theatre, arts and music. A Special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Desh Prem Azad and Kapil Dev for the magnificent bowler he became under the guidance of his mentor. This was the first edition of the awards function, which was televised on Aug 20 on IBN 7.

Speaking about the initiative, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat said: "A total of nine Guru-Shishya jodis were felicitated through this initiative. The aim of this initiative was to pay a tribute to the everlasting bond between a mentor and his pupil, both of whom have made a mark in their respective fields and have kept the sacred Guru-Shishya tradition alive. We chose winners from all over the country and hosted a grand ceremony in Delhi to honour them. To highlight this initiative, we adopted a 360 degree marketing and communication strategy. The various media vehicles employed were TV, print, online, outdoor, digital screens, social media, etc. We also used PR as an effective tool to reach out to the masses through a series of pre- and post-event stories in the print media.”

The main sponsor of this event was MPGI Pratap University. The concept of IBN7 Guru Shishya Awards gave them the opportunity to bring forward and salute the age old tradition of mentor and student. MPGI also announced a scholarship on this occasion. As an education brand, this helped them in increasing the credibility of their effort to impart good and quality education in the society.

As for the execution of the Real Heroes Awards, which was held in partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd., the event was piloted by Rajdeep Sardesai, the Editor-in-Chief of CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN Lokmat. The awards recognized and acknowledged ordinary Indians who are making a difference to people's lives. This is the fourth edition, wherein 24 unknown and unsung heroes were felicitated. The objective of this initiative was to felicitate the efforts of these 24 Real Heroes from across the country who have redefined humanity by dedicating their lives towards the betterment of society. They were felicitated with a trophy and cash prize of five lakhs each.

For promoting the concept, a 360 degree marketing and communication strategy was adopted. Besides on air promotion on their network, various other media vehicles including print, web, radio, outdoor, and social media were used to promote this activity. Also, there was a lot of PR push around this initiative through a series of press releases.

Commenting on the initiative, Ritu Kapur, Head Real Heroes and Features Editor, CNN-IBN said: "In its fourth edition, the aim of this initiative in partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd. was to identify and recognize those ordinary citizens of our country who have dedicated their lives to work selflessly for causes close to their hearts and are changing the face of society through their unparalleled contributions. This award was a tribute to salute such people who are working for the betterment of our society and are an inspiration for millions across the nation. Besides our network channels IBN7, IBN-Lokmat, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, we had multiple media partners for this initiative with My FM 94.3 being the radio partner; Bright Outdoor being the outdoor partner, and DSN as the digital OOH partner."

The categories of the awards were women's empowerment, education and children, the youth, social welfare, health & disability, the environment and sports. The awards followed a stringent selection process where each potential winner was deliberated over by the IBN18 editorial board. The awards were attended by several high profile personalities and Bollywood celebrities. The chief guests included Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and his wife Neeta Ambani, Bollywood directors Yash Chopra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, singer Asha Bhosle, actress Karisma Kapur, sports icon Anil Kumble and Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik. These awards were televised on Aug. 27 on CNN-IBN.

Commenting on the association with the properties, Farhad Wadia, CEO, E18 said: "We are happy to be associated with unique properties like these and it's great that we have got an opportunity to execute the awards for IBN 7 and CNN-IBN. This first of its kind initiative will award the Guru-Shishya duo highlighting the achievement of the Shishya that has made the Guru proud. We hope to raise the bar of execution in the coming years. The Real Hero Awards too, in its fourth edition, has combined the power of originality to provide a lifeline to people. It is a very prestigious awards property to be associated with and we thank the CNN-IBN team for giving us an opportunity year after year."