http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/adam-ferrier/ Adam Ferrier is a Consumer Psychologist and a Founding Partner of Naked Communications, Australia. After completing university with degrees in Psychology and Commerce Adam began his career as a psychologist working in maximum security prisons before making the natural, seamless, move into advertising. During this time Adam also managed to complete a post-graduate thesis into what makes people cool, and create a psychological board game ‘The Analyst’ (apparently selling well in the Benelux countries). Now at Naked, Adam works with the country’s most ambitious marketers and some of the world’s most desired brands. Adam writes and talks about consumer behaviour, living in a branded world, and what it means to be cool (or not). en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-dont-know-about-art-but-i-might-steal-this/ Have you seen this advertising campaign for the Art Series Hotels?  As reported in The Australian, it encourages people to come and stay the night in one of the three Art hotels (The Cullen, Olsen and Blackman) all based in Melbourne.  If you see the piece of art by Banksy, (it’s valued at over $15,000) on the walls you can steal it.  If you manage to get away with it you get to keep it.  If you get caught then back on the wall it goes. The promotions aim is to encourage people to stay at the hotel over summer by offering them the chance to be in their very own art heist, and so far has been extremely popular.  There are good reasons why, but before I get into that I have to disclose it was our agency that helped develop this scheme. Offering people the chance to steal, is like offering people the chance to cheat, lie, covet thy neighbours wife, eat a whole tub of ice cream, or a litany of other sins.  These are all things we know we should not indulge in, but for what ever reasons at times, have a strong desire to do.  In forensic psychology there is a well-established saying ‘bad men do what good men dream’. That is, we all have the impulses to act in anti-social ways, however, most of us have learned how to manage such urges, and not act on them.  We have realized that acting on these urges will often lead to hurting someone, or ourselves – hence we suppress that which we know we should not do.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-dont-know-about-art-but-i-might-steal-this/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-dont-know-about-art-but-i-might-steal-this/#item7361 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:50:55 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Consumption-need-not-be-a-deadly-disease/ Consumer spending is good, right? We are told in the media all the time to spend more, and we worry when “consumer confidence” is down. Why is that? In short, the answer is because we have a GDP to look after. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is one of our key financial indicators, and in developed western societies consumer spending makes up approximately 65 per cent of GDP. If consumer spending is a large determinant of GDP, then the more we spend the higher our GDP and the better the economy. So if we are being told to spend just so we have an increasingly higher GDP, then someone, somewhere must have worked out that this must be good for its citizens right? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Consumption-need-not-be-a-deadly-disease/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Consumption-need-not-be-a-deadly-disease/#item6749 Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:35:32 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hairs-how-to-raise-more-money/ Asking people to do anything is tough. Asking them to give you money is even harder. Yet that’s what charity and social cause organisations have to do every day. Nearly all of their advertising focuses on one of two ways to unlock peoples’ wallets to raise money. It’s either: 1) A rational message: Providing statistics that show how important the charity is, and how large the task at hand is. For example, how many lives are at risk, how many people have died, how many degrees the earth has warmed up and so on. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hairs-how-to-raise-more-money/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hairs-how-to-raise-more-money/#item6099 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:30:52 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Since-when-did-advertising-become-respectable/ The other day I was presenting at a conference on sustainability, and wondered what I was doing there.  I clock up more air-miles than a rare bald headed eagle, have an unsustainable lifestyle, and don’t own a rainwater tank.  Don’t get me wrong I was flattered to be asked to talk, and trust I contributed to the conference, but it got me thinking.  I can’t go past a discussion on a cultural, environmental, or societal issue these days without seeing an ‘ad-guy’ (and unfortunately it’s very often males) proffering their opinion on what will solve our latest ill. Like it or not, the advertising industry is being pulled into all manner of communities with the hope they can solve the world’s issues. And like it or not, the world is now taking the ‘ad guy’ seriously.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Since-when-did-advertising-become-respectable/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Since-when-did-advertising-become-respectable/#item4291 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:50:11 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Dads-last-gasper-burying-the-argument-for-smoking/ My dad was a pack a day smoker of Marlboro Reds, he died of cancer in 1996. This is a picture of my three brothers and I carrying him into the funeral service in his coffin. If you look carefully you will notice the coffin is painted as a carton of cigarettes, Marlboro Reds to be exact (it was painted on my dad’s request by my talented sister Tania Ferrier). Dad loved his smokes and didn’t appreciate anyone saying he couldn’t smoke. In fact, just before dad died he asked me to give his eulogy and remind everyone that he wanted to be cremated so he ‘could light up one last time’. He was a relatively conservative chap - but one with a wicked sense of humour, and I guess a fierce sense of brand loyalty. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Dads-last-gasper-burying-the-argument-for-smoking/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Dads-last-gasper-burying-the-argument-for-smoking/#item2980 Wed, 05 May 2010 19:00:42 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/money-probably-can-buy-you-happiness/ Does your new model six-cylinder car make you happier? What about that new in-home cinema, complete with HD-TV, surround sound, and reclining couches? You think so. How about the holiday you recently took with the family? Unfortunately, as humans we are not that good at predicting, understanding, or acting in a way that makes us happy.  This lack of knowledge is even more pronounced when it comes to the relationship between what we buy and how happy it makes us.  Have you even considered how happy various purchases you’ve made have actually made you?  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/money-probably-can-buy-you-happiness/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/money-probably-can-buy-you-happiness/#item2308 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:50:34 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/massive-fail-the-anti-social-world-of-social-media/ I was a bit of a front row nerd at school - it comes with the territory of being State Under 12 Chess Champion in 1983.  I can clearly remember one occasion at school when I put my hand up to answer the teacher’s question and felt a sharp whack on my head.  Someone from the back of the room had scored a direct hit with a rubber. I looked around but could not identify the culprit.  The teacher didn’t see a thing.  Needless to say from that moment on I kept my hand down, and my views to myself.  Today I see something similar happening on the Internet, and today’s ‘rubber’ is ‘the anonymous comment’.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Adam Ferrier) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/massive-fail-the-anti-social-world-of-social-media/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/massive-fail-the-anti-social-world-of-social-media/#item1574 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:00:22 +0000 Adam Ferrier | Author bios | The Punch