The Gong Blog

Topic: Public Relations

How PR can support your legislative affairs work

We’re not a public affairs firm, but we work with enough state agencies and nonprofits to know that our public relations work goes hand-in-hand with public and legislative affairs. This year, our Creative Services and media relations teams stretched their muscles to support our clients across the board with a variety of legislative and advocacy-related work. Here are three big takeaways from the last couple of months. Develop Key Messages and Sing in Harmony When it comes to legislative work, you’re likely not the sole…

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Why Your Company Needs a PR Agency

In a world where a business’s image and reputation can make or break its success, the role of public relations has never been more vital. Whether you’re a small startup or a well-established corporation, PR can help you navigate the complex landscape of public perception. But why should you consider hiring a PR agency? Strength in Numbers When you hire a PR agency, you’re gaining access to a whole team of experts. While your account might have PR pros dedicated specifically to your business, behind…

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What to Expect When Starting to Work with a PR Firm

So you’re thinking of working with a PR firm. Whether you’ve worked with a PR firm before, or it’s the first time, it can be a big decision. How much is it going to cost? How much time is it going to take to manage? How to choose between firms? Why are we doing this? Here are a handful of things to consider if you’re looking to work with a PR firm. Set a Budget It’s not quite like Jerry Maguire’s escalating “Show me the…

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How an actual PR agency works: Comparing Keeley Jones Public Relations Firm in ‘Ted Lasso’ to the real world  

As Richmonders, Ted Lasso’s AFC Richmond strikes a familiar chord. Rooting for the home team is easy, and the show’s main character, Ted Lasso, constantly reminds viewers to find the good in everyone –a mindset most Richmonders would be proud to support. Aside from being a heartwarming story of an underdog soccer team vying for success in England’s Premier League, I’ve been intrigued by how the show portrays PR agency life through the lens of Keeley Jones Public Relations (KJPR). Here are a few things…

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Grand Slams: Reflecting on the 2023 Richmond PRSA Awards

Each year, The Richmond Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America holds its annual awards ceremony to honor the innovative work of public relations professionals from the previous year. The awards program champions creativity and highly effective communications strategies, and this year, Hodges knocked it out of the park. The team took home a total of 9 awards in the following categories: One standout campaign was “Virginia’s Community College’s G3 Awareness and Lead Generation Campaign” led by Michaela Mishoe and the VCCS account team….

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What Makes a Good Client (and a Bad One)

I was asked by a new client years ago, “What makes a good client?” The question took me aback. I’d always focused on being a good (if not great) agency; now here was someone on the client side (where I spent more than half my career) putting some of the onus of the success of the relationship on themselves.  It was a smart question. Now, years later, here’s my answer… No TODAY Show-itis We used to say that the three warning signs that we were…

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Three Reasons Why I Used to Hire a PR Firm 

I spent the first half of my career – if my math is right, about 22 years – on the client side, toiling in our profession in the government, at corporations and with startups. Most of that time, our communications resources were pretty self-contained – that is, we did what we could with the staffs and budgets that we had. There were occasions, however, when we looked beyond our walls for some added assistance.  And there were three primary reasons we would retain a public…

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When to Hold an In-Person Press Conference

Let me start by saying that I’m not a big fan of news conferences. I can safely say that the greatest moments of anxiety in my 40-plus years in public relations have been those insufferably long minutes leading up to the beginning of press conference when, despite all the best preparations, there are no reporters around. No camera crews. No sound guys attaching microphones to the podium. No eager journalist wannabes working for the local shopping news. The good news is that today, there are…

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Crystal awards on a shelf

And the winner is…Incorporating awards into your PR strategy

For the first several years of our agency’s life, we eschewed pursuing awards. Come award season, we’d casually brush aside suggestions that we put our best work up for industry honors. Given the time and effort it takes to nominate yourself, we reasoned our energy would be better spent promoting our clients rather than ourselves. But over time, this sense of modesty gave way to a real-world practicality: awards are a valuable tool for validating the quality of your work. We’ve been proud to have…

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Extreme close-up of a pile of gold, shiny glitter

Public relations for industry associations – a gold mine of material

Content is all around us, you just have to know where to mine it. And when it comes to industry associations, they’re gold mines for PR and marketing folks looking to generate content and pitch the media. At Hodges, we love working with associations because it makes our jobs infinitely easier. Why? Because we’re not just working with one client; we’re considering every member of that association a client contact in some way – and when we and the association succeeds, so do the members….

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How To land your first PR job – and knock it out of the park when you start

It’s graduation season, which means a number of students are stepping out into the world with PR degrees either hunting for a job or looking to make the most of a first opportunity. I remember how much I benefited from the advice of others when I was just getting started, so I asked my colleagues what advice they would share with this year’s graduating class of PR students. On finding a PR job: Don’t be afraid to fail. The hiring landscape is a competitive one…

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Sean & Josh on Media Relations

Teaming Up, Episode 10: Josh & Sean on Media Relations Myths

Media relations is one of the most essential functions of public relations, but there are many misconceptions about how it all works and what strategies will be the most effective in getting media coverage for your client. In this episode, Josh, co-founder of The Hodges Partnership, and Sean, vice president of media relations, take a look into some of the most commonly believed myths about national media relations and teach us some best practices to start using in our own work. Here are the five…

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