Employee Spotlight: Patrick Oberstadt

Meet Crobox’s Behavioral Designer who says his job is diverse, psychology can be applied to pandemic response, and who is semi-famous.

If you could sum up your job in one word, what would you say?

I’m thinking of diverse or variable. Why? Because my days are never the same.

I execute designs and client-face for our customers, I design internally, attend talks, discussions, and meetings.

Yet each has its own space because we’re working on so many different projects. So if I have to explain it in more words than one, I think I’d be in trouble.

My first job is to do with behavior and psychology. But that’s just part of it, as is the design that is the output of that. So I guess I’d say my job is:

Diverse.

How long have you worked with Crobox, and what’s your favorite part?

I’ve worked at Crobox for 4 years so far. What I like most is the combination of everything. It’s both the work that I do and the people I work with.

Working in psychology is great but the fact that I’m able to design as well is something I couldn’t get anywhere else.

I’ve even written a blog post or two and been part of decisions that have changed the course of the company. I like that my input can affect the company on a bigger scale.

Of course, the fact that Crobox is in Amsterdam also makes it really fun! It’s a really cool product as well - I mean, who wouldn’t like working in AI, psychology, and ecommerce?

Who’s your favorite brand and why?

From a branding aspect, I really like Apple products. They make me want them. Doesn’t matter what it is, I just want Apple stuff. I think that might be my favorite brand right now.

In the past, I would’ve said Nike or Nintendo - just because most of my stuff is from there. I just like the sleek slick stuff from Apple. Especially as a designer, the products and branding just make me go ahhhhhh.

Why do you think consumer psychology is so vital for retailers?

Psychology is important because retailers need to understand who they’re selling to. Knowing what someone wants (or even to make someone want what you’re selling) is very valuable. You can find this in psychology - not directly, of course, and that’s the beauty.

You can also understand how people convince themselves to buy or not buy something, or how they go through the decision-making process. Psychological analysis is really about finding the why behind the buy, which isn’t just interesting to me but is valuable data for ecommerce - from merchandising to advertising.

But ok, let’s take it out of the ecommerce context. Consumer psychology has been used and is being used to help people save money, eat healthily, and carry out healthy behavior (nudging them to do things that are good for them and society).

But I think the more we understand people and their consumer behavior, the better we can help them become better people. Pandemic psychologists, for example, helped help contain COVID-19, change behavior, and discover how people follow guidelines in different countries.

So for big crises like these, it’s really important to know what people think, how they act, to ensure the right behavior is carried out on a grand scale.

The way we use consumer psychology at Crobox is ecommerce based, sure, but it’s about finding out what people like so we can help them make better shopping decisions. It’s also about helping them make healthier decisions.

Consumer psychology isn’t about persuasion anymore, but a two-sided relationship that will benefit the end customer.

What’s one tab you will always have open?

Either Soundcloud or Gmail. And my calendar. I have three tabs constantly open.

What’s the closest to fame you’ve ever gotten?

Dutch TV news for Cryptocurrency blog on Crobox: read it here!

I’ve been on TV a few times. I was on CNN - the biggest media news outlet I guess brings me closest to fame. But the most screen time I had was actually for Dutch TV. It stemmed from the crypto blog post I wrote for Crobox, which gave me a lot of exposure. Newspapers were talking about it, blogs were reposting it…

Yeah, that was my biggest grab to fame.

What about being a DJ?

That hasn’t brought me that much fame. At the time I had quite a following… there’s a DJ on there who used to follow and look up to me who has now 200,000 followers. He outgrew me.

A few times people came specifically to see me play but no, no one recognized me on the street… if you know what I mean.

Who’s your favorite artist?

You’re giving me hard questions!

It’s a matter of when in time you’re asking me. My all-time favorites tend to change, although I really like Kyle. Kaytranada. Sam Gellaitry (that’s the Soundcloud guy who outgrew me. I’m now a big fan of his).

One month later: SZA

Two months later: Ok maybe Biggie Smalls

Three months later: You could also use Jack Harlow, Sango, Tom Misch, Thundercat…

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Chewing.

No, but seriously, I deal badly with people who are obnoxious or arrogant, and can’t put themselves in other people’s shoes.

I like to be understood and if I’m unable to get my point across because others can’t be self-reflective - that really gets me agitated.

I was also thinking of people who can’t say they’re sorry or admit that they’re wrong. I know it’s hard but if you can’t do that then you need to step your game up… ‘cause that’s just lame.

Is there a fun fact about you that people don’t know?

I am quite an open book….however, there are definitely fun facts that I need to dig up about myself.

There’s a fun story about me that features a Vampiric guy asking to collaborate on DJing with me. He lived on Leisdeplein, and everything in his house was either gold or made from fur. Oh, and he had a snake and was saving to buy a white bat…

Anyway, he asked if I wanted to go to a studio to record. So he took me on the back of his scooter to this soundproof studio. I didn’t have reception. The door shut closed behind us… He said he usually brainstormed in here for days…

Eventually, he turned out to be a nice guy. I even have him on Facebook. But I would never normally get myself into situations like these, as I’m usually quite anxious.

Another fun fact is that I’ve been on a radio competition for a song I made. It was kind of like American Idol and people would judge your song. I made it to the finals but I didn’t win.

Yeah, that’s me. At 17. Don’t judge.

Who would you swap lives with in the office for a day?

Janelle and Patrick on CNN, discussing green packaging as nudges.

I’d switch with Rodger for a day. I’m just curious about his life. He lives in an amazing neighborhood, has a cool house, a lot of important meetings with clients… but I also believe he can get quite crazy on the weekend. His life is just very different from mine, so that would be the most interesting swap.

I would also swap lives with Elaine, Janelle, Maya, or Nikki for the day, just because I’d be curious to see what it feels like to be a woman.

Our Employee Spotlights feature interviews with Crobox’s in-house experts. From data scientists to psychologists, learn what makes us tick professionally (and privately).