I had no idea how difficult it would be to name my own photography business. Many photographers just use their own names, maybe tacking on “Photography” or “Studios” at the end. But I couldn’t do that – every imaginable URL featuring my name was in use by another photographer somewhere. Even my grandmothers’ names were already taken! There are a lot of photographers out there…
And anyway, I wanted something better, a name that would make the marketer in me proud. So I embraced the quest like a high-end consultant: creative brief, market research, competitive analysis, brand architecture, soul searching, word association, six hats thinking, literature search, more brainstorming, crowdsourcing…. I explored every possible strategic and creative avenue, and came up with what seemed to be the perfect name! Mission accomplished, I unleashed one of the best graphic designers I know.
The next day, a brew pub opened in the heart of my carefully-staked-out market with that very name. Arghhh. I went in for a pale ale. And back to the drawing board.
The struggle was worth it. Pivot Photography emerged as the name, and I think it's even better than a brew pub.
Pivot may be memorable because it makes fans of old “Friends” reruns scream “Pivot, pivot, pivot” on cue; or because it resurrects a hope that our Twitter-happy leader will make a rational and moral “pivot” a bit to the left. Or, maybe Pivot will be sticky because everyone knows I love basketball; or because photography is a new direction in my career. If these are the reasons, great. But they weren’t intentional.
For me, Pivot is the perfect name because it reminds me every day what a great photo is and does. Photography captures vital moments, establishes connections, and causes shifts in thinking. It is pivotal.
Company name? Check. Next challenge: work hard to produce photos that live up to the name.