Ever wonder what it takes to be Georges St-Pierre, world welterweight champion of the UFC? That’s the question we asked journalists in order to drive coverage of the G Series, the latest innovation in sports nutrition from Gatorade designed to provide athletes with the necessary fuel, fluid and nutrients before, during and after activity (see the Facebook info tab we built for it here).

(And yes, being naturally blessed with good genes helps but it’s the years of hard work and strategy that have gone into GSP’s training and nutrition regime that have made him into one of the toughest men on the planet.)

 Why did we ask journalists that question?

 The Goal: Generate media coverage for the G Series by focusing on Gatorade athlete Georges St-Pierre’s title fight at UFC 129, the biggest UFC event ever.

The Challenges: No access to GSP himself (in training, naturally…) and a very crowded news week (the UFC’s own activation & the Royal wedding among other things).

The Solution: On April 26, 2011, Gatorade Canada held a day-long media tour with the amazing Firas Zahabi, head trainer to the champ himself.  Firas held court at a downtown Toronto MMA gym to talk about the importance of sport nutrition and teach journalists and bloggers a few key MMA moves that they might see GSP himself throw down.

Outfitted in their G Series-branded gi, media worked up a sweat and got tips from Firas in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and striking stations. Throughout their workout, journalists learned the role the G Series can play in getting the proper nutrition before, during and after training. It’s like Firas says: you can be the fastest car on the track, but if you don’t have the right fuel, you’re not going to go anywhere.  Think you’d have what it takes? Check it out.

A Microsoft Canada survey conducted by Harris/Decima recently revealed that a large majority of Canadians believe business leaders need to take more intelligent risks, and Microsoft Canada President Eric Gales has made it his mission to engage Canada’s future and current business leaders and address this important trend.

The January 2011 survey polled senior and junior/mid-level Canadian and U.S. office workers to better understand their views about technology and innovation in the workplace. The results were clear: 84 per cent of Canadians believe business leaders need to take more risks to create innovation, while only 53 per cent of Canadians feel the company they work for is already driving innovation.

This is a topic Mr. Gales is very passionate about.

“Canadian business leaders must embrace an appetite for intelligent risk instead of shying away from it to stay within the comfort of status quo,” he says. “Now is the time to create organizational cultures where risk is not a dirty four-letter word, but is encouraged as a valuable ingredient in fueling learning, creativity and inspiring innovation.”

Starting with an event at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, about two dozen students joined Eric Gales and DeGroote’s Dr. Benson Honig to discuss risk-taking in business. 

The McMaster MBA students certainly had something to say about the state of Canada’s innovation and how risk plays a role. Check it out:

On March 31^st, Microsoft Canada then hosted a media event where Mr. Gales, Peter Aceto, President and CEO of ING Direct Canada, and Dr. Honig, participated in a panel on the very same topic.

The lively exchange, which received coverage in the Financial Post, IT World Canada and IT Business, inspired all of us to take intelligent risks in both our personal and professional lives, but also encouraged Canada’s business leaders to lead the path by creating organizational cultures that encourage teams to take a chance on a great idea.

On April 6^th  High Road was there as Disney Interactive Studios opened the vault at One King West, hidden below the streets of Toronto to showcase the upcoming 2011 line-up of video games.

To make the evening extra special media were encouraged to bring their children along. Everyone spent the evening interacting with familiar Disney characters on screen by playing LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars 2: The Video Game and Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension.

Media and their children immersed themselves in a world only Disney can create complete with a table full of candy and kid friendly drinks, including “Pirates Potion, CHROME, and Agent P.”

Media also had the opportunity to chat with Jon Warner of Avalanche Games, who conducted 1:1 briefings about Cars 2 The Video Game taking journalists on an epic secret mission with CHROME (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage).

 The event was a huge hit, creating positive buzz and anticipation in advance to the 2011 launch dates of the three upcoming titles.