Idea Lab Live brings together fresh ideas, cultural energy, and merch inspiration for brands ready to move in 2026. Explore what’s shaping the year ahead and leave with ideas you can activate.
2026 Speaker Sessions
Our 2026 lineup dives into cultural moments, emerging trends, and brand opportunities defining the year ahead.
Turning Moments into Momentum
Why people rally around shared moments and how brands earn their place.
2026 Merch Trends
Colours, materials, and cultural influences shaping the product landscape.
Promo with Purpose
Using merch to create brand impact.
The 2026 Lineup!
Turning Moments into Momentum
Marcello Gortana
Founder of Tennis Digital
Marcello Gortana is the founder of Tennis, a next-generation web and product design agency helping B2B companies transform their websites into growth engines. He partners with marketing teams to drive revenue, efficiency, and ROI through strategic, high-performing web experiences, backed by practical insights and a client-first approach.
Turning Moments into Momentum
Lindsay O’Brien
Vice President at T1 Agency
Lindsay O’Brien is a dynamic, results-driven marketing leader with 15+ years of experience spanning brand, property, and agency roles in sports and entertainment. She creates insight-led partnership strategies that deliver measurable ROI, believes in the power of shared experiences to build community, and motivates high-performing teams through a collaborative, people-first style.
Turning Moments into Momentum
Giordan Sora
Vice President, Experiences at Diamond
Giordan Sora is Campaign’s 2025 Producer of the Year and Vice President of Experiences at Diamond. With an MBA and over a decade of agency experience, he leads award-winning global programs and is the Founder and CEO of a sustainability consultancy advancing innovative production models.
2026 Merch Trends
Pam Stauffer
Director of Design, Gemline
Pam Stauffer is an accomplished design leader with a BID in Industrial Design and over two decades of experience translating cultural insight and consumer behavior into purposeful, brand-driven product experiences. She leads a multidisciplinary design team dedicated to crafting intentional, trend-forward solutions that help organizations connect meaningfully with their customers.
Promo with Purpose
Jennifer Klepadlo
Manager, Brand Marketing at Volkswagen Group Canada Inc.
Jennifer is a driving force behind purpose-led brand experiences at Volkswagen, championing “brand love” through thoughtful, community-focused activations. From Sporting Life 10K to Camp Fire Circle and Canada Soccer, she curates promotional products with intention, ensuring every item is meaningful, functional, and builds lasting emotional connection and brand love.
Promo with Purpose
Tess MacLeod
Associate Director, Brand at ATB Financial
Tess MacLeod is a seasoned marketing professional with nearly 20 years’ experience across oil and gas, tech, and financial services. As ATB’s Associate Director, Culture-to-Brand, she develops strategies that bring the company’s culture to life externally, championing authentic employee stories as the organization’s strongest brand ambassadors.
See the latest products that will elevate your brand experiences this year.
Merging branded merch with creativity and strategy
You’ll Learn How To:
Supercharge Your Brand Strategy with impactful merch.
Fuel Engagement & Loyalty through innovative ideas.
Activate Campaigns with Purpose that deliver results.
2026 speakers coming soon. Get in the game with 2025’s lineup!
Thanks for having me at the fantastic event! I would absolutely go again if you are planning to have more!
Sabina Jeon, Intact“
Very well organized event. The new screens for merchandise bags were a great feature to customize and build your own swag bag. Selection of varied vendors with different niches with a lot of variety were appreciated. Food trucks were a nice touch too. Good speaker panels that were very informative, good format for openly asking questions. Overall, incredible event & looking forward to next year with refreshed ideas and speakers.
Sana Nawab, BUNGE CANADA“
Loved the event. Loved the venue and the experience. Looking forward to next year.
Evan Babins, Scotiabank“
This was a great and valuable event, thank-you for providing us with the opportunity to attend.
Liam Maddock, RBC
We are the Brand Love Built Better Together™ company — your trusted, creative catalyst delivering easy access to results-driven solutions that celebrate people, culture, and brand.
Merchandise experiences are an essential tool in any brand’s journey toward progress, and we make it seamless and intuitive to connect those experiences directly to tangible business results.