The Gong

What Luxury Means to Hodges

March 27, 2012 | by Elisabeth Edelman

We at The Hodges Partnership have been developing a luxury practice over the last couple years.  As with most things, the perception of luxury depends on the lens used.  I wanted to take a moment and discuss what luxury means to us and why we are so passionate for this sector.

If you turn to the dictionary, you will find definitions of abundance, extravagance and the enjoyment of pleasures or comforts that are not absolutely necessary.  Some equate luxury with items bearing exorbitant price tags.  Others might get philosophical on you and explain that luxury is intangible, a precious moment of satisfaction or ease.

We take a slightly different perspective.  To us, the notion of luxury reflects a dedication to sourcing and serving the best of the world’s talents and resources to create a product of meaning and value.  I see this in a jeweler’s seventh-generation artisans taking days to carefully shape pieces of sterling silver and gemstones into delicate bangles.  I see this in a retailer whose every catalog is held to the standards of an editorial fashion shoot.  I see this in a designer spending years perfecting the shape of a garment and traveling to Italy to find just the right fabric.

We love working with this industry because we share our clients’ pride in creating these amazing goods and services.  We have the privilege of getting to know the businesses inside out, hearing the stories and seeing the hard work that is put in everyday to deliver at such a caliber. But who says luxury can’t have a sense of humor?  I love this shot from May 2011 issue of Harper’s Bazaar with the cast of Bridesmaids in the midst of a materialistic orgy, cleverly likening Bridesmaids as the female version of The Hangover.

0 commentsPosted in: Branding  |  Public Relations

Facebook Timeline for Brands.  Holy S#@!

February 29, 2012 | by Jon Newman

If you are a Facebook marketer like me, today is like Christmas (or for me Chanukah) in February.

Because Facebook Timeline for Brands is here and we have a month before it kicks in for good, whether we're ready or not.

At first blush (here's the THP page) it is pretty much what we expected with:

• The new cover photo offering great promotional opportunities
• The ability to highlight stories for greater impact
• The ability to minimize or totally edit past posts to tell your story better

But a deeper dive has marketers like me salivating because:

• Apps for landing pages, contests etc. now have a more prominent place directly under the cover photo and next to the new photos box.  This will likely lead to greater engagement and interest
• For admins, the more streamlined admin panel give you additional tools to help you share the page with others including the ability to easily import emails from outside services like Outlook and LinkedIn.

Still to be answered is additional functionality like how this will impact landing pages, etc.  But my first guess is they will still exist and have greater cross-promotional opportunities with the Timeline page.

So the race is on.  If you haven't created a cover photo or photos, what the heck are you waiting for? Please share your initial thoughts in comments below.  We'll have additional posts in the coming days.

Ready?  Go!

5 commentsPosted in: Branding  |  Social Marketing  |  Social Media

Two great upcoming #RVA events

May 03, 2011 | by Jon Newman

It's been awhile since the last post but things have been busy at work and with spring break  (Hogwarts was very fun). I welcome you all back with news of two fun events on the horizon.

The first is an honor to be a part of, as we're sponsoring the event.  She may not know this but there are few people who have influenced me and in turn the direction of our business, than Amber Naslund (@ambernaslund).  Almost three years ago when I dove into the world of social media, Amber was there.  With her blog Altitude Branding, now Brass Tack Thinking, her availability and advice on Twitter, and her welcoming friendship when we met face to face at Blog Potomac, Amber was and is a teacher and mentor on the topics of social media, social business, online civility and fun in general.   In her position at Radian 6, she is a nationally recognized voice in social business.

She is speaking in Richmond at this Thursday's Social Media Club meeting promoting "The Now Revolution," the book she co-authored with another personal fav of mine, Jay Baer.  If there is one event to go to this year, it is this Social Media Club event.  Period.

Second, for those who didn't receive a Facebook or email invite, consider yourselves invited to "Opening Day" at The Hodges Partnership and Hodges Digital Strategies next Tuesday, May 10 at our Shockoe Bottom HQ from 12noon-5pm.  This open house celebrates the renovation and expansion of our physical space.

We will celebrate in true baseball style with hot dogs, popcorn, giveaways and a "first pitch" for clients at 1:05pm.  BTW, we're still looking for someone to sing the National Anthem so if you can sing it and sing it well, please comment below.

Please RSVP on this Facebook event page or leave a comment below, as we need to know how many hot dogs to order. :)

Looking forward to seeing all of you at both events.

2 commentsPosted in: Branding  |  Hodges Digital Strategies  |  Social Media  |  The Hodges Partnership

#RVA and Creativity, one year later.  #RVACreates

February 10, 2011 | by Jon Newman

One of the most viewed posts in this blog's two-plus year history was one I wrote on Richmond and the concept of creativity.

Posted early last March, I made the case that Richmond's "brand" should not rely on its history but on its future and that future should highlight the strong creative community that exists here.

The reaction and comments I received from that post were stunning to me with most in favor of the idea and making suggestions as to how we could harness and celebrate Richmond's creative spirit.

Little did I know, at the exact same time, some of the most creative people in Richmond (most of them a lot smarter than me) we exploring the same idea and were planting the seeds to do something about it.

People like the great crew at Venture Richmond, Kelly O'Keefe at VCU's BrandCenter and Matt Williams of The Martin Agency were picking the brains of the talented BrandCenter students to forge and idea.  Over the months a larger group that includes folks from West Cary Group, Elevation, JHI and even us at THP, plus local civic groups and others that I will apologize to for forgetting, having been meeting to figure out a way to help celebrate Richmond's creativity.

Not in and obnoxious let's force this thing down everyone's throats way.  But in a way in which everyone can participate and everyone can celebrate.  Most importantly, in a way that everyone can contribute to publicly.

What the BrandCenter students identified early on was the adoption of "RVA" as a common ID for Richmond.  Many companies, online communities, etc. have already incorporated RVA into their language.  Twitter has spurred this by the mutual adoption of the #RVA hashtag as the universal Richmond ID.

Fast forward past all those meetings with all those people smarter than me and what has emerged is RVA Creates.

Is it a brand?  I wouldn't call it that.

Is it a movement?  Could be.

Is it a state of mind? I hope so.

Is it an opportunity? Without question.

How can you participate?  Easy. First, go to RVACreates.com and read up on what you can do.  You can send in your examples of Richmond's creativity to rvacreates@gmail.com and it might be featured on the website, the RVA Creates blog or on the RVA Creates Facebook page in the near future.  We're looking for any or all examples that you can come up with whether your an artist, an architect or an accountant.

Please also read the blog and become a fan of the fan page, more cool stuff coming to both those places.

You can also create your own example of RVA creativity by filling in the RVA generator on the website.  It is a self-explanatory process and we encourage you to use the RVA you generate as an avatar for social media or as a signature on your email, a poster, whatever.

This is the beauty of RVA Creates.  If it becomes a brand or a movement or a way of life, we can all have a part of it.

In a society where others seem to always to define us, this time we can all define what our community truly is and what makes us great.

Let's have some fun as we Create.

1 commentPosted in: Branding  |  Richmond