Posted by Elena del Valle on March 28, 2014
What Makes Olga Run
Photos: Jennifer Williams, Henry Holt and Company
Geriatric runners have become a common site in urban marathons but ninety year old sprinters are exceptional, says Bruce Grierson. In What Makes Olga Run The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us About Living Longer, Happier Lives (Henry Holt and Company, $25), the author explores what makes Olga Kotelko, a 91 year old sprinter who held 26 world records in 2009, exceptional.
At five feet and half an inch tall and weighing 130 pounds she is, he explains, extraordinarily strong. As of the publication of the book this year she was the holder of 600 medals.
“I think two types of readers are in the sweet spot:
The first are people who’ve been lifelong exercisers who are now suddenly burning out or breaking down or both. Having to figure out how to mix things up so as to mitigate the damage and rekindle the interest.
The second group is middle-aged couch potatoes. Their takeaway message is that it’s never too late,” he said by email in response to a question about the target audience for the book. “The science is telling us that you can make massive gains even deep into life. The trick is to get started. It’s hard to start. Olga says that a lot: ‘Don’t stop, cuz it’s hard to get started again.'”
The 231-page softcover book is divided into Prologue, Coda and 12 chapters. In addition to Kotelko, Grierson interviewed dozens of masters athletes and closes the book with nine tips for readers who want to emulate the high performing older athletes.
Bruce Grierson, author, What Makes Olga Run?
When asked what the hardest part of the book project was he said: “Getting the running shorts over my pot belly. No, seriously, the difficult part was trying to run a narrative through the all the science without getting bogged down in detail but still getting the facts right. The physiology of aging is a fascinating area that’s changing almost by the day. A challenge to stay on top of.”
The most rewarding or surprising aspect? “Getting to know Olga as a person, not just as a scientific anomaly or a story ‘subject.’ We spent a lot of time together. It helped that we were simpatico. She’s taught me a lot, and most of it has nothing to do with ‘fitness,’ per se.”
Asked if there was third party funding or sponsorships for the book project he said: ”
No. The scientists involved did the testing for free. In McGill’s case, the scientists specifically got their own funding to conduct the muscle physiology tests on Olga, as part of an ongoing investigation on aging athletes. The small stuff I paid for. Olga got the guinea pig’s discount (i.e. free).”
Grierson, a freelance writer, is author of U-Turn: What If You Woke Up One Morning and Realized You Were Living the Wrong Life? He lives in North Vancouver, Canada.
Click to buy What Makes Olga Run?
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on March 20, 2014
U.S. Population by Generation Percent – 2014 – click to enlarge image
In 2014, there were 78.3 million Americans aged 20 to 37. This market segment, often described as Millennials, represents a quarter of the country’s population. Almost one in five (19.4 percent) Millennials is Hispanic, 14.8 percent is Black, and 5.2 percent is Asian, making the group among the most diverse, according to Marketing to Millennials US February 2014 Executive Summary, a Mintel report.
While Baby Boomers protect their private data, 60 percent of Millennials who responded to Mintel questions said they would be willing to provide details about their personal preferences and habits to marketers. Even for private information these young adults are open minded. Among respondents to the Mintel questions, 30 percent of Millennials said they would share personal information in exchange for a financial incentive such as a $10 discount. Only 13 percent of Baby Boomers who answered the question said they would be willing to do the same.
“Millennials are predisposed to share their personal habits and contact information with marketers, but they do so only when the perceived benefits outweigh the risks. Given that their generation accounts for nearly a quarter of the population, the implications for businesses are tremendous, because as Millennials go, so goes the US economy,” said Fiona O’Donnell, category manager, retail, multicultural, lifestyles and leisure, Mintel, in a press release.
Millennials said they are more likely to share cell numbers and social media profiles with companies than Baby Boomers (30 percent compared to 14 percent and 27 percent compared to 10 percent, respectively). Baby Boomers said they were more willing to share a mailing address, 40 percent versus 38 percent of Millennials. For the most private information, credit scores, 17 percent of Millennials and 8 percent of Baby Boomers were willing to provide the information.
The generational groups represented in the Mintel report are Baby Boomers (23.6 percent), Emerging (9 percent), Gen-X (15.4 percent), iGeneration (16.9 percent), Millenials, Swing (10.5 percent). Baby Boomers are aged 50 to 68, Emerging are under seven years old, Gen-X is 38 to 49, iGeneration is seven to 19, and Swing are 69 and older.
Posted by Elena del Valle on March 14, 2014
Be Bold and Win the Sale
Photos: McGraw Hill, Jeff Shore
Taking action despite fear and discomfort without being manipulative or obnoxious when others would back away is what Jeff Shore advises when it comes to sales. In Be Bold and Win the Sale Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Boost Your Performance (McGraw Hill, $20) he emphasizes that winning should reward all parties involved, and that a sale is about helping customers improve their lives.
At the end of the chapters, he features Expert Interviews in which he illustrates the point of that chapter with feedback or quotes from someone he considers an expert. For example, in the chapter on discomfort he quotes Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Pink points to a study from the University of Pennsylvania that suggests the best sales people are neither completely introverted nor extroverted but rather in the middle of the spectrum.
He also recommends finding experts who stand out when it comes to picking up and understanding the perspectives of others. Serving, by improving someone’s life, Pink believes, is lacking the most in today’s sales world.
The 261-page softcover book published this year is divided into three parts and 15 chapters. Part One, Dealing with Discomfort, features: “Well, This is Awkward,” Getting Your Inner Boldness On, That Nagging Squirminess, Story Time, and The Gut Check.
Part Two, Developing Boldness, features: Let’s Do This Thing!, The Boldness Network, Retraining Your Brain, Big Problems in Little Packages, Handling the “Gotchas,” The Advanced Course, and Go! Part Three, Putting It All to Work, features: The Customer’s Mission, The Customer’s Mission, The Customer’s Mission, and Putting It All Together.
Jeff Shore, author, Be Bold and Win the Sale
Shore, founder and president, Shore Consulting, Inc., is fellow of the National Speakers Association’s Million Dollar Roundtable.
Click to buy Be Bold and Win the Sale
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on March 6, 2014
Bear Grylls
Video, photos: Discovery en Español
Targeting an adult audience between 25 and 49 years of age Discovery en Español will release the six-part series Bear Grylls: Escape from Hell (Escape del Infierno con Bear Grylls) as part of a new programming block dedicated to human adventure and survival shows Thursday nights. The programs will be dubbed into Spanish from the original English language production. The first 60-minute segment will air at 9 p.m. ET/PT March 6, 2014 and the final episode will air April 9 of the same year. Scroll down to watch a promotional video in Spanish.
According to a press release, Escape del Infierno con Bear Grylls reveals true stories and first person accounts of people who escaped death in some of the most desolate and hostile places on the planet. Each episode presents three real life incidents in places such as the heart of the Amazon Jungle or California’s Sierra Nevada. Grylls traces back the steps taken by survivors, analyzing their life-saving techniques, mistakes made, and the ways they could have adverted danger.
A scene from Vivir para Contarlo
Some of the stories described in the program include: Eric Le Marque, who endured eight days in below zero temperatures in California’s Sierra Nevada. Even after falling in the freezing waters of a river, he kept walking until he was rescued; the French explorers Loic Pillois y Guilhem Nayral, who each lost more than 45 pounds after roaming the heart of Amazon for seven weeks; Polish natives Maciej Tarasin end Tomek Jedrys, who became lost in the Raudal del Tiburon Canyon in Colombia; Italy’s Mauro Prosperi, a contestant in a race in the Sahara Desert who went astray and had to face the highest temperatures on the planet for nine days without water.
The Bear Grylls series, produced by betty (an English production house owned by Discovery Communications Inc.) for Discovery Networks International in English, was completed and aired in the United States and abroad in 2013. Sarah T Davies is executive producer for Discovery Networks International. Neil Smith is the executive producer for betty.
A scene from Supervivencia – click to enlarge
Other survival shows to be featured as part of the Thursday night block include a new season of Vivir para Contarlo Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The original series highlights stories from Latin America. A weekly program Supervivencia al Desnudo will air Thursdays at 10 p.m.ET/PT. It will showcases a new pair of total strangers, one man and one woman, stranded in and exposed to some of the world’s most extreme weather environments in a remote location, for 21 days, without food, water, or clothing.
Posted by Elena del Valle on March 4, 2014
Information provided by Event Partner
14th Annual Multicultural Media for Multicultural America Forum
Horowitz Associates’ 14th Annual Multicultural Media for Multicultural America Forum
March 20, 2014 | Edison Ballroom, NYC
8:00am – 5:30pm
The Multicultural Media Forum is a unique, research and strategy-driven event attended yearly by roughly 400 executives and decision-makers from the media, advertising, technology, and financial industries. Originally conceived as a summit to call the industry’s attention to the then-untapped value of multicultural consumers to businesses across the media spectrum, the Forum was the first and remains the leading event focused on the media consumption behaviors, attitudes, and demands of America’s diverse “new general market.” The theme of this year’s event is Transcending Multiculturalsim.
Our aim through this year’s Multicultural Media Forum is to lead the media industry beyond its conventional understanding of “multiculturalism” and toward a new paradigm of “transculturalism” that encompasses and weaves together America’s myriad cultures into a new vision of the mainstream that truly reflects our country’s vibrant diversity. What exactly is transculturalism? How is it different from other words that are being used of late—words like multicultural, total-market or cross-cultural? Perhaps most importantly, what are the implications of this idea of transculturalism to all aspects of the media industry? Whether your business is aimed towards the “general market,” Millennials, or whether you target distinct multicultural segments, understanding the implications of transculturalism will be critical for your future success.
The agenda will include a research presentation featuring new research on Hispanic and multicultural consumers and their media habits. The agenda will also include a case study from sesame workshop entitled “Lessons from the Street: What Sesame Workshop Learned from Hispanic Moms and Kids.” Learn more about this new concept and the future of the media industry at this March 20th event.
Confirmed speakers and panelists include:
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Julio Arrieta, Managing Director, Brand Leadership, Lopez Negrete
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Clayton Banks, President, Ember Media
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Artie Bulgrin, SVP, Research & Analytics, ESPN
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Silvina Cendra, Planning Director, Grupo Gallegos
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Marve Frazier, Chief Creative Officer, Moguldom Media
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Joel Kliksberg, VP and Chief Strategy Officer, Fusion
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Michael Maliner, VP, Strategic Planning, UniWorld Group
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Evan Shapiro, President, Pivot
Radha Subramanyam, EVP, Sales and Marketing Research, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment
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Luba Tolkachyov, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Findr Group
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José Vélez-Silva, Senior Director, Multicultural Marketing, Comcast
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José Villa, President, Sensis
For the full list of speakers: www.multiculturalmediaforum.com
The Multicultural Media Forum will take place on Thursday March 20th, 2014 at the Edison Ballroom in New York City from 8:00a.m.-5:30 p.m. Visit www.multiculturalmediaforum.com for more information and to register.
Enter promotional code HMPR2014 and receive an extra $50 off!
For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at 914-834-5999 or stephaniew@horowitzassociates.com.
