Speed dating offered participants a fast-paced opportunity to get to know each other better.
S – As usual, this year’s Summer Meeting of the international cooperative, Ippag (International Partnership for Premiums and Gifts), was held at the location of one of its over 35 members. The host this year was the Swedish promotional products agency, Wackes, who had chosen picturesque Hesselby Palace, near Stockholm, as the venue.
More than 80 guests gathered here for the Global Industry Conference on September 19, 2025, including not only Ippag members, but also 14 partner suppliers of the cooperative.
The General Manager, Florence Mosnier, the Sustainability Manager, Valeria Bortoletto, and the Operations Manager, Johanna Dupont, had organised a tight, intensive programme for the day, which held a highlight in store first thing in the morning: the creativity researcher and bestseller author, Fredrik Haren: In the course of a fast-paced, two and a half hour workshop, Haren put the creativity of those present to the test, exposed common misconceptions and presented astonishing techniques for raising creative processes up to a new level. Ippag ultimately presented his bestseller entitled The Idea Book to all attendees as a gift.
Spectacular: the workshop by creativity researcher, Fredrik Haren.
Next, Torsten Jansson, founder and CEO of the New Wave Group, introduced the biggest Swedish industry player that is also number one on the European corporate textiles market. Jansson then gave an insight into the structure of the public company and its corporate philosophy that among others places high priority on its ability to deliver. Lectures by Richard Davis (51toCarbonZero) and Allen Mohammadi (Grale) on offsetting emissions and CO2 tracking as well as new ways of avoiding microplastic followed. Both speakers work together with the cooperative. For instance, a task force within Ippag is currently working together with 51toCarbonZero on a process that compares the emissions caused by haptic advertising to the carbon emissions of classic advertising disciplines.
The subsequent speed dating literally got the auditorium moving: Two rotating circles of chairs facing each other offered all participants the opportunity to get to know as many colleagues and partners in the shortest space of time – a pre-prepared questionnaire which covered in some cases very personal themes enabled a fast introduction, bypassing any small talk.
The second half of the day was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the cooperative, which was founded in 1965. Video messages from the oldest and future Ippag generations built bridges to this year’s motto – Legacy and Generations – and the Ippag members proved once again during the concluding gala dinner that they certainly know how to celebrate: Many of the guests had taken the dress code of the evening – “Come as a singer of your choice” – very seriously and turned up in spectacular costumes that fitted in perfectly with a decade-long Ippag tradition: They like to do a lot of singing. The participants had not only rehearsed a four-voiced song, but the newcomers also had to prove their singing skills during the dinner. Last, but not least the location – whether by coincidence or not – had its own karaoke room, which was used up until the early hours of the morning.
The conclusion of a thoroughly successful, forward-looking anniversary: The legacy of the Ippag founders is more alive than ever and the new generations of the “Ippag changemakers“ will continue to spearhead the industry with new initiatives in the future too.
// Till Barth
www.ippag.world
Photos: Till Barth, © WA Media
