Categories: Articles

Your Creative Moment Of Zen

I want my MTV.

Yes, I am from that generation. A time when moving images were put to the hottest music, and every musician and band was forced to create a video representation of their audio landscape. Most bands, labels and managers failed spectacularly, when it came to making this happen. Some struggled due to talent, while most suffered with little-to-no budget. As with all things creative, these limitations also gave rise to a new form of art and creativity. It’s one that has spilled into the YouTube (and now, Snapchat) generation. Creators are finding fascinating ways to tell stories. The other (major) factor in the development of the music video genre, has been technology. As the years wane on, access to better tools (hardware and software) have empowered these same creators to think bigger than ever. Just wait and see what augmented and virtual reality is going to do to push this genre even more.

A prime example of great video, creativity and artistry.

For Coldplay‘s latest single, Up&Up (it’s the third single taken from their new album, A Head Full Of Dreams), the band really pushes the boundaries, in what can only be described as a timely (and timeless) visual collage that you will want to watch over and over again. Beyond how visually stunning this clip is, I’m left trying to imagine how the creators juxtaposed so many interesting ideas. Fun, eye-opening, clever, deep and highly entertaining. A lesson for every brand (and band) that has access to the tools and a publish button…

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.