Some careers come with relatively predictable career paths. If you want to be a lawyer, you might go to undergrad, then law school, take the bar, get an entry-level position, and then work your way up to partner. Maybe you become a judge. Maybe you even become...the president?
Very few of us working in naming today started our career trajectory with sights on becoming The Person Who Gets To Name Mountain Dew Flavors. But once you figure out what a namer is, what are some of the paths you might take to get there?
I asked a bunch of namers what their job title histories looked like. Let's dip back into more of the survey results I mentioned in last week’s newsletter for their responses.
A handful of people I surveyed started as namers out of college and stayed namers. But most of us started our working lives without even knowing that naming was a profession. How did we find our way to it? (Or how did it find us?)
Copywriting is the gateway job title
13 of the 35 namers who responded listed copywriter as either their first or an early job title. Many still consider themselves copywriters, or offer copywriting services in addition to naming.
Copywriting was how I got into naming. I'd had plenty of other jobs, but copywriting at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was the one that introduced me to naming.
Here's my theory, based on my own experience:
When you're the copywriter, you're the default "words person." When someone needs a lot of words, they come to you. When, all of a sudden, they just need one word, they still come to you. And whether you like it (some do!) or you don't (many don't), naming becomes a new part of your job you were never really trained for.
This can be the moment, to paraphrase Dolly Parton, where they find out who they are and do it on purpose: A namer is born.
Naming finds word people of all stripes
It’s not just copywriting that points people toward naming. One namer began as a storyteller, a children’s book author, and a ghost writer. Another began as a poet. One worked as a communications assistant and reporter. One was a typist, proofreader, assistant editor, a freelance journalist/columnist, and editorial director (and, yes, eventually copywriter).
Entering through the building where names are made
Many, many namers started in other roles at branding agencies. A handful namers' responses meandered through all sorts of agency titles. A couple of journeys that I loved:
UI/UX Designer > Senior UI/UX Designer > Creative Director
Design Assistant > Internet Marketing Consultant > Interaction Designer > Senior Creative Strategist > Consultant, Brand Strategy > Senior Consultant, Brand Strategy & Naming > Associate, Brand Strategy & Naming
Market Researcher > Analytics > Verbal Identity
Design can be your way in. Marketing can be your way in. Market research can be your way. Strategy can be your way in. Agency life exposes you to lots of different disciplines, and for a lot of people, it takes trying out different roles and teams to find the one that really suits you.
You start where you start
My favorite part of the survey responses was seeing early job titles, most of which were very far from naming. These included:
Telemarketer
Babysitter
Cashier
Florist
Barista
Biology teacher
If you want to become a namer and you’re doing something in an unrelated field, that’s ok, because…
Naming finds a way
Naming icon Mark Gunnion has one of my favorite journeys:
Tuxedo rental clerk > AV support guy in college > linen packing clerk > sous chef > video cameraman > market research recruiter > musician > vocalist > lyricist > 'Zine publisher > variety TV show host and producer > audio tape transcriber (for market research and journalism) > transcription services business owner > freelance namer > > naming manager at an agency > self-employed name consultant/namer.
Basically, Mark found out what a namer was by hearing Andrea Carla Michaels talk about naming on NPR, reached out, and, long story short, made himself into a namer. A great one.
Next week, I'll get into how I personally became a namer. My trajectory includes working for a woman with the same name as a Disney villain, checking the noses of members of the boy band 98 Degrees for boogers, and a lot of smelly scented candles.
Happy naming!
Caitlin
Want more naming resources?
Take an upcoming Naming for Everyone class
Download free booklets from the Truth in Branding series on naming and trademarks