When it comes to names, there are many paths to take

Naming your company is no easy task—you need something that grabs your audience’s attention, something that rolls off the tongue.
Do you keep it short and sweet? Do you just pick something that sounds cool? All of these things are important considerations, but we believe that a great name should speak to the core values of your business.

That’s why we chose Hazen.

The namesake of our small business

Alhazen is the latinised name given to Abū Ali al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham, a 10 and 11th century polymath who
dedicated his life to researching optics, astronomy, mathematics, psychology, and philosophy. He is often cited as ‘the father of modern optics’, and his foremost contribution to science was establishing how sight worked. The belief at the time was that sight was achieved through emanating light from our eyes; Alhazen argued that it was from our eyes receiving light reflected from objects.

What Alhazen means to us

We love Alhazen for so many different reasons. Firstly, he wasn’t afraid to go against the grain by suggesting something that had never been suggested before. Thinking beyond the status quo takes creativity, but it also means collecting a great deal of evidence to back his then-wacky ideas. In fact, he was a pioneer of the scientific method, laying out a new system of rigorous testing to verify a hypothesis.

Of course, we’re no research lab. But we do take inspiration from Alhazen and strive to reproduce his analytical approach. When we come up with ways to achieve our goals, we don’t close our eyes, pick one at random, and pray that it works. We research what has worked in the past, and what hasn’t. We get to know the audience to preempt their reaction.

Alhazen’s camera (obscura)

Another innovation of Alhazen’s was the pinhole camera, a forerunner to the modern cameras of today. But Alhazen wasn’t able to put his camera in his pocket; his device was a dark chamber with a tiny, circular hole that would project an upside-down image of whatever was on the other side. This was known as the camera obscura effect, the term coined by Alhazen himself.

We feel a great deal of gratitude toward every innovator along the way who turned the pinhole camera into the digital device that we use daily to build our business. The camera has long been the essential factor which lets us create, even before the existence of Hazen. Our founders (link to about us page) met in a filmmaking class, before beginning a partnership which would go from class assignments, to short films, to establishing their own creative agency. That’s why we named our agency Hazen, to remember the innovator who started it all.

Naming a small business

As you can see, a lot of thought goes into a name. But it’s worth it, because once you decide, it’s really hard to go back! Your name will define your entire business, be a part of every touchpoint, and when done well, will be on the lips of your audience.

Here are some tips to come up with a good name:
Know your brand story: are you able to summarise how you came to be and why you exist in one sentence?
Know your brand personality: If your business was a person, who would they be? Would they be rebellious? Playful? Serious? Authoritative? Young?
Know your core values: What do you, and your business, stand for?
Once all of these aspects of your business are in mind, you’re well on your way to creating a great name. Bring this information to the key stakeholders, and all that’s left is the brainstorming!

About the business behind the name

So who is Hazen (the agency, not the person)? We are a single team, dedicated to telling your untold story. We do so by providing brand consultancy, design & content production, and full-service campaigns (link to our services list) for businesses big and small. If you need to name something and you’re completely stuck, we can help you. If you need more insight into building your brand and discovering your story, personality, and values, we can help you with that too.

No matter where you are in your business’ journey, our team offers a range of services to help you reach your goals – get in touch and let us know what you need.

New Perspectives from a new Hazen

We’re Back! Introducing a new perspective from Hazen

A new look, a new perspective

Look around: you’ll see that we’ve redecorated since we last met. But our new website isn’t just a cosmetic change. We’ve levelled up, and now Hazen 2.0 has even more capability to illuminate the businesses and brands that create positive impact. Our team has grown, our portfolio has expanded, our vision has come into sharp relief, and best of all, our office plant collection is healthier than ever. We’re all back in the office.

Welcome (or welcome back) to the new Hazen. We look forward to meeting you.

The challenges of an agency in today’s media-saturated world

Capturing audience attention is no easy feat in a world so saturated with media. Gone are the days of flash pictures and fluffy taglines; standing out takes a whole lot more now. Nearly everyday of every waking hour, people are plugged into an endless stream of content. How do they separate the signal from the noise?

Humanity speaks volumes

The newly-minted Hazen team (link to the team page)is a diverse group of individuals coming from all walks of life. We each hold our own unique stories and perspectives, embracing our points of difference to take a human approach with every project we encounter. Connecting with audiences is all about creating human stories, stories that tickle their brains and prod their hearts. In order to capture their attention you need to first capture their emotion.

Looking through our new prism

Our new logo is similar, yet distinctly different from when you last saw it. Paying homage to the contributions of our namesake(link to naming blog 2), we adapted our logo to further highlight Hazen’s ability to illuminate ideas and brands in a new light. Our logo is, and always has been, a prism; but this time you’re looking through it, finding a new perspective.

The journey ahead

We don’t care if you’re big or small. We don’t care if you have a multinational, award-winning marketing team or if you’re a one-person business trying to keep it all together. Everyone has great aspirations, and our job is to lay out the strategy to make those aspirations a reality. As long as you work to make a better future, we’ll be there with you to shine the spotlight. Our goal is to create a community of visionaries to help you make a massive, positive impact. This rebrand is just the start.

We’re ready to hit the ground running – get in touch with us to offer your audience a brand new perspective

Back in August 2020, we went to Prestons to film five commercials that would serve as the crown jewel of our integrated campaign for Amity College, titled ‘Spark Curiosity’. We called it Spark Curiosity because that’s the most important thing that Amity College does for its students. Because once you spark a child’s curiosity, there is no limit to what they can achieve. By creating tonnes of opportunities for students to discover their unique talents, Amity College sets the stage for students to cultivate their own brilliance. All it takes is that one spark.

Video-making process informed by filmmaking experience

Our founders come from a filmmaking background. Throughout university, they collaborated on short films and strengthened their knowledge of process and best practice. In fact, the previous iteration of Hazen was a company that they started whilst studying together.

Without a strong understanding of the art of video production, Hazen would have never started. Many of our clients believe that making a commercial is totally out of reach, but years of experience has taught us how to keep the process short and sharp. Which brings us back to our hectic four day shoot at the Prestons campus of Amity College.

How to make a commercial in a school, whilst school continues

Four days to make five commercials. All whilst the everyday chaos of school was happening around us. There were a couple challenges ahead of us. Not only did we have to be safe around a school in full swing, we also had to film in a COVID-safe manner. Additionally, our time was restricted by the schedules of the actors, who were also students of Amity College themselves! In fact, every teacher and student in the films are actual members of the Amity community.

Despite the hurdles, our crew moved swiftly to film every single shot that we had planned. Kids pointed and asked us questions about the camera as it passed them. Teachers watched the monitor in amazement, as their school transformed into a film set. And every day ended before 6PM; a miracle for any film production.

Why the art of filmmaking is still an indispensable part of marketing, even now

Back in the day, the commercial was the holy grail of marketing. Ads could become world famous, taglines could become unforgettable overnight. Who can forget the reinvention of Old Spice (“look at your man. Now back to me.”) or how speeding could represent some, er, anatomical deficiency? But now with the explosion of social media, mobile phone cameras, and the decline of TV advertising, many businesses take the DIY approach when it comes to video production. But should you?

We chatted with Mustafa, founder of Hazen and director of the Spark Curiosity films, to discuss why he opted for a high-value production for Hazen’s Amity College campaign. When Mustafa first sat down with the school’s principal, it provided important insight into their key values. “They kept talking about how they don’t solely focus on academic excellence, their vision is to foster future leaders''. This painted a clear picture for the campaign’s message, “What we really wanted to achieve was authentically translating what the school does for kids in the most effective way”. “Our task was to convince parents that this school would be a perfect fit for their kid’s wellbeing and for them to grow up in.” Mustafa notes that this was no easy task but it sparked his greatest realisation that “in order for us to tell the Amity story we needed to feature true stories''.

Ultimately his decision to produce a series of high-production-value films came down to several key considerations. “When you’re developing a campaign and you’re trying to make a statement as a company, you’re going to be seen on TV, in cinemas, on so many platforms, you need to stand out from everyone else. In order to stand out and be taken seriously, and for people to invest two minutes of their time, you need to do something that grabs their attention.” Mustafa notes that storytelling is what first grabs audience attention but production quality is what will keep them watching.

However, there’s no denying that a more ‘raw’ DIY approach has it’s value. Like so many things, the approach you decide to take will depend on a number of factors, such as target audience, platform, and your desired campaign goals. The DIY approach is a great way to connect with audiences in a more organic manner where a Hollywood worthy production isn’t entirely necessary, for example on Facebook Instagram, and the increasingly popular TikTok. A more polished production is a fantastic way to engage with audiences on a deeper level, particularly when you want to delve into more detail about your campaign and message, as we did with Amity College.

It’s not only about the movie making

To launch the new branding and campaign, we developed a microsite that highlighted Amity College’s new look whilst staying true to their longstanding values. This site provided a platform where prospective parents could watch the campaign films, learn more about the school, and seamlessly begin the enrolment process.

Amity College saw a digital reach of more than 60,000 users plus a 22% increase in social media followers. Overall the campaign was a resounding success, resulting in maxed out enrollments for years 7 to 10. Our integrated campaign gave life to Amity College’s ethos with a vibrancy that engaged and connected with audiences.