Case Study · Branded Merchandise & Promotional Products · Istanbul, Turkey
A 2.5-hour SuperCollaboration™ keynote and workshop that moved around 70 company owners and senior leaders from 30+ countries from treating AI as a productivity tool to treating it as a strategic collaborator.
At a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Client | IPPAG (International Promotional Products Association Global) |
| Industry | Branded Merchandise & Promotional Products |
| Event | IPPAG member meeting, Istanbul |
| Event Type | 2.5-hour keynote and workshop in a split-room format |
| Audience | ~70 company owners and senior leaders from 30+ countries |
| Location | Erhas venue, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Challenge | Members were adopting AI tools and automating workflows, but in a commoditised market where every competitor has the same technology, the strategic question remained: were they becoming faster, or wiser? |
| Solution | "SuperCollaboration™: Wiser, Not Just Faster" — a 2.5-hour keynote and workshop in a split-room format. |
| Outcome | Members left treating AI as a strategic collaborator rather than a productivity tool, with processes identified for exnovation and concrete AI applications to trial in the weeks following. |
The Challenge
IPPAG (International Promotional Products Association Global) is a 60-year-old cooperative of company owners and senior leaders from 30+ countries in the branded merchandise sector. Its members were already adopting AI tools and automating workflows.
But in a commoditised market where every competitor has the same technology, the strategic question remained: were they becoming faster, or wiser?
IPPAG General Manager Florence Mosnier didn't want another keynote on productivity tools. She wanted members to see AI as "a catalyst for rethinking value, differentiation and purpose" — answering a harder question: when the tools are table-stakes, what actually differentiates you?
What does it mean to use AI wisely, not just faster?
Most organisations use AI cleverly — to automate tasks and speed up workflows. Using it wisely means anchoring AI in purpose rather than technology: asking how it helps a business live its purpose, rethink value and differentiate, and which processes it should stop doing altogether. When every competitor has access to the same tools, speed alone is table-stakes; judgement and purpose are what set a business apart.
Bespoke by Design
A cooperative of owners from 30+ countries spans every level of AI experience — from members still exploring the tools to those already automating workflows. The session had to work for all of them.
James built the brief through conversations with members themselves and with IPPAG's General Manager, so the content reflected the real questions in the room.
Learn about the Taylor-Made Process →With Jen McAvoy (VP Client Engagement, Cotton Candy Inc., Toronto), Mike Oxley (Founder, Prominate / 1947, London) and Ralf Dickopf (Zinc Group, Germany).
In-depth briefing sessions with IPPAG General Manager Florence Mosnier.
A layered brief designed to serve both ends of the AI sophistication spectrum in a single session.
Connecting AI meaningfully to sustainability, and anchoring everything in purpose rather than technology.
The Delivery
James opened with a quote from Rumi — who lived and died in Konya, not far from Istanbul — framing the central argument: most organisations use AI cleverly; the harder question is whether they use it wisely. He put three member purpose statements on screen — "Making Brands Real" (Zinc Group), "Merch is Magic" (Prominate), "Brand it like you mean it" (Pandinavia) — and asked: how does AI help you live these?
The keynote covered the Competency Penalty, the Centaur / Cyborg Model from Harvard and BCG research, the Klarna/IKEA contrast, and cognitive atrophy drawing on recent MIT research. The workshop then ran three thinking tools:
A structured way to look at an AI opportunity from every side before deciding what to do with it.
Professor Hal Gregersen's Question Burst method, used to open up new ways of thinking about members' own businesses.
Provocative "what if" scenarios to push members beyond incremental thinking about AI.
A live Higgsfield AI demo built a product video campaign for an IPPAG-branded luxury goodie bag, and the Synneo case study — a French member that used AI to generate an entirely new product — provided peer validation.
Frameworks & Tools Delivered
A way to connect AI to what each business stands for — tested live against member purpose statements like "Making Brands Real", "Merch is Magic" and "Brand it like you mean it".
Explore →Harvard and BCG research on two high-performance styles of human and AI collaboration — the basis for treating AI as a strategic collaborator, not just a productivity tool.
Explore →Members identified processes to stop doing altogether — freeing space for the work that differentiates them in a commoditised market.
Explore →From the live Higgsfield AI video demo to the Synneo peer case study, members left with specific AI applications to try in the weeks following.
Explore →The Results
Countries Represented by IPPAG Owners and Senior Leaders
James Taylor's SuperCollaboration™ keynote and workshop for IPPAG shows what changes when an AI session is anchored in purpose rather than technology. By pairing research on the Competency Penalty, the Centaur / Cyborg Model and cognitive atrophy with hands-on thinking tools and live AI demos, the 2.5-hour session moved around 70 branded merchandise leaders from 30+ countries from asking how to be faster to asking how to be wiser.
About the Speaker
James Taylor MBA FRSA is one of the world's leading keynote speakers on creativity, innovation, and Human+AI collaboration — with over 3,000 keynotes delivered across 50 countries. His SuperCollaboration™ keynotes and workshops have been delivered to international member associations, Fortune 500 leadership summits and global industry events. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and author of SuperCreativity, James specialises in helping leaders use AI wisely — anchored in purpose, not just productivity.
James specialises in bespoke AI keynotes and workshops for international associations and business owners — from member meetings to leadership retreats. His preparation process includes conversations with your members, so every story, tool and example is built for your audience.
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