Ogilvy's Kunal Sinha wins WPP Atticus Grand Pix again

Kunal Sinha, vice-president - Discovery at O&M India, has won the top honour in WPP Group's annual Atticus awards for original published thinking in the marketing services for the second time.

He says, “It's wonderful to receive this recognition. It is the spirit of Atticus original thinking that drives me to push the limits and constantly look for the new avenues to explore.”

His entry 'The Future of Technology and its Impact on our Lives' was chosen unanimously by the judges as the best contribution. The panel of judges included Peter Stringham, group general manager marketing, HSBC; Judie Lannon, editor, Market Leader; and William Lewis, business editor of the Sunday Times,

He will receive the specially minted Atticus statuette and a cash award of $10,000 from WPP CEO Martin Sorrell in London later this year.

Sinha's thesis is an exercise in anticipating the future, as it explores the web of interconnections between technology creators, users and forecasters, to uncover those possibilities that hold the key to making technology brands successful. All this leads to a driver-model for technology brands. He had last won the Grand Prix in 1996 for his paper, Communication Effect.

Sinha is the only person in WPP history to have won the Grand Prix twice. In between, he had picked up two highly commended certificates. The competition has got tougher in recent years – WPP had 27,000 employees in 1996; it now has 84,000.

Commenting on the win, Ogilvy Worldwide chairman Shelly Lazarus said, “Beating 285 entries from all across WPP to win the Atticus Grand Prix is no easy feat, but to have done it twice is extraordinary. It speaks of the brilliant work Kunal and the Ogilvy India Discovery team does every day.”

“With this award, the Ogilvy India Discovery team brings glory to all of us at Ogilvy,” says John Goodman, CEO, Ogilvy India and South Asia. © 2005 agencyfaqs!