#c2mtl

Social campaign for C2 Montréal.

By Ariane Laezza, Global News

On its third and final day, C2MTL continues to spark ideas and conversations that are sure to catch like wild fire in the days and weeks to come.

The energy in the C2 Hangar, located at 2020 William St. in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood, is palpable and at times, overwhelming.

Several attendees mentioned feeling unexpected emotions from various talks held by notable speakers, such as Amanda Hill, CMO of A+E Networks, calling for people to “have the courage to have a point of view in this world” because “it’s become way too easy to not be smart.”

In these tumultuous and often unpredictable times, it can be easy to feel uninspired, unimportant and quite frankly, numb.

Feelings of hopelessness can affect even the most creative and inspiring souls.

Friday’s speakers brought a sense of limitless possibilities in the creative, cultural and technological realms of our time.

Arguably, the most highly anticipated speaker of the day was the one and only Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers, who pointed out several times during his Q&A that humour is an integral part of his work.

“Don’t ever give up your humour if you’re young enough,” said Wozniak, or “Woz,” as he is often affectionately called by friends and fans.

“Be nice to everyone and make sure you’re enjoying the life you have.”

What gave everyone all the feels was when Wozniak, who famously gave up much of his wealth to live a simpler and happier existence, brought insight into the very early days of Apple Computers with the following statement: “We weren’t doing it for the money, we were doing it for love.”

Heart emojis abound.

It’s a gentle reminder that the decisions we make in our lives should be made as conscious participants of the world, that ultimately, money should not be a driving force and perhaps it’s time to start solving problems with our hearts and not our minds.

A visit to C2MTL cannot be made without mentioning Hatch Experience, a global network of industry leaders dedicated to doing extraordinary work in bettering the planet.

This year, Hatch was invited to curate a specific tribe of guests for C2, including NASA’s Michelle Thaller, founder of Sphero Ian Berstein, Mark Brand, Chris Denson, Esther Lee and Tim Kring, among others.

As a network designed to catalyze creativity for a better world, Hatch also knows how to have a good time, curating a series of dinners and performances at a variety of restaurants and bars throughout the week – we are in Montreal, after all.

The festivities continue Friday night with the much-celebrated C2 closing party, featuring Montreal’s very own duo Chromeo as the headlining DJs.

I imagine there will be many missed flights Saturday morning, perhaps with people pondering Steve Wozniak’s final thoughts on happiness:

“Happiness equals food, fun and friends.”

In the end, the best thing about C2MTL is the formation of new, international friendships and connections along a backdrop of food, music and culture in the beautiful city of Montreal.

-------------------------------------

By Ariane Laezza, Global News

Day Two of C2MTL, taking place at Arsenal on 2020 William St. in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood, focused on the innovative creations to come – and the understanding that the future, in fact, is already here.

Robots, bio plastics, the philosophical experiences of digital art; we are at a crossroads between our industrial past and digital future and the decisions that are made today will determine our collective reality in the years to come.

Speakers like Ian Bernstein, founder and CTO of Sphero (the company that created the lovable BB-8 droid from Star Wars), industrial designer Karim Rashid and digital artists Daisuke Sakai and Takashi Kudo from the Japan-based Team Lab all offered up their personal and professional philosophies on embracing future technologies while considering its impacts on the human condition.

“Only create if it adds something to the human experience,” Rashid professed.

“The contribution has to be greater than what exists.” In a time where we are saturated with commodity, we must focus less on materialism and focus on a great experience.

A similar theme came up on one of the “Brain Dates,” an ongoing networking opportunity offered up to C2MTL attendees to meet other like-minded people at the conference.

We met with some members from Meet the Future, an initiative started by Montreal-based Factry, a school of creative sciences that sent 35 people between the ages of 18 to 24-years-old to the conference this year.

Their 2017 motto: “This year, you can’t talk about the future without listening to what the next generation has to say.” How can we truly discuss the future without the voices and opinions of today’s youth?

After all, they are the ones living this reality of our new digital, social age.

The millennial generation, as they are often referred to by marketers, will be an integral part of the success and survival of our world in the years and decades to come.

It seems they are ready, willing and able to stand up to the challenge, they just need the ears and the confidence of their older, more established counterparts to hear them out.

By Ariane Laezza, Global News

In its 6th year, C2MTL kicked off with a promise of hope, inspiration and a call from Jean-François Bouchard, chairperson of the conference, to “participate in the rethinking of our collective future.”

A small feat? No, but based on the resounding applause and positive murmurs from the audience, C2MTLers are up to the challenge.

C2, being held at Arsenal on 2020 William St. in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighourhood, brings together the commercial and the creative to explore trends, opportunities, disruptions and major shifts on the horizon.

Every year, more than 5,000 decision-makers and creative minds unite to collectively shape, experience, and challenge the future of business.

The morning started with a performance from Maestro Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in the 360 Big Top stage, surrounded by striking video mapping that brought the auditorium to life, and ultimately, the first standing ovation of the conference (there will undoubtedly be many more).

The quality of speakers and depth of ideas generated at C2MTL has garnered international attention and, according to Price Waterhouse, has resulted in multi-million dollar business deals between attendees.

That’s not only good for business, it may in fact be good for the world.

The 2017 theme of C2MTL revolves around the five following questions:

How do we develop talent in an ever-shifting business environment? What’s the role of the marketer in this new, constantly shifting digital world? How do we reinvent entertainment? In which ways can we rethink cities as living, ever-changing organisms? What is the next great leap for humankind? The strategically curated panel of speakers on Day 1 included Linda Boff, chief marketing officer of GE; Michelle Thaler, deputy director for science communication at NASA and Monika Bielskyte, a creative strategist, among others.

Day One was filled with bold, forward-thinking women who are disruptive leaders in their fields, changing the world one day at a time.

C2MTL takes place from May 24 to 26, 2017.

Stay tuned to find out what the next two days have in store!

-----------------------------