Celebrate creativity in marketing with the Black T-Shirts podcast

Two iconic Australian creative professionals, Thinkerbell’s Adam Ferrier and IAG Chief Marketing Officer Brent Smart, have come together to celebrate creativity in marketing in their new podcast on LiSTNR, Black T-Shirts.

In each episode, the adland staple black t-shirt wearing duo Ferrier and Smart will go deep on a famous piece of creative work, to understand what it takes to make something great, and also whether it would pass market research, putting it to a focus group.

The first episode in the series, launching on 22 March, features Claudine Cheever, VP Global Marketing at Amazon, to talk about the data-driven company’s embrace of emotional storytelling.

The second episode, launching on the same day, features lauded UK creative Ben Pollitt, Group ECD at AdamandeveDDB. 

Pollitt is co-creator of the famous John Lewis Christmas campaign.

Ferrier is a multi-award-winning advertising creative strategist and founder of celebrated agency Thinkerbell. He is also a leading consumer psychologist and authority on behavioral economics. He is the author of Stop Listening to the Customer and The Advertising Effect, and a regular on shows such as Gruen, Sunrise, and The Project. 

Smart spent 20 years in agencies, leading NZ agency of the decade Colenso BBDO and rising to CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New York. 

In 2017, Smart moved client-side, becoming CMO at IAG, where he has taken the NRMA Insurance brand from 36th strongest brand in Australia to 5th according to Brand Finance, and won the coveted Grand Effie last year.

Ferrier said of the podcast: “With great creativity often comes a complex personality, with a compelling backstory.”

“We wanted to explore these people and their own relationship with their creativity, their motivations and explore the fundamental question ‘does their creative output really connect at a human level?'”

Smart replied: “I thought we just wanted to share the chats we have over a few beers about creativity with more people.”

SCA CMO, Nikki Clarkson, said: “Black T-shirts is equal parts informative and entertaining, and that makes for a great listen.”

“Creativity is at the heart of everything we do at SCA including in all our marketing endeavours. There are not many podcasts available that cross the divide between business and creativity and this one plays right into that opportunity.”

Black T-shirts’ episodes one and two are now available on LiSTNR with new episodes dropping each week.