Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a fundamental commitment to ensuring equal opportunities, while others may see it as a corporate trend. Whether you view it as a fundamental right or a performative movement, there’s no arguing its current polarizing nature. As DEIB continues to dominate headlines, there’s been a surge of conflicting definitions and interpretations, challenging individuals and organizations to reevaluate and redefine what the initiative means to them and its role in the workplace. …
In our latest episode of Teaming Up, Paulyn Ocampo is joined by Ashley Brooks, of council at Roth Jackson. The duo focus on the legalities and guardrails we should consider as we navigate the integration of tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and Claude in our industry. These large-language models are being trained on billions of pieces of data, but is what about the ethics? Was copyrighted material part of the training set? Is the content actually original? What are the red flags we need to know…
Your brand is the visual and written essence of your identity. It tells your story, conveys your values and connects you with your audience. Much like how a chef plates a dish with care because people eat with their eyes first, your brand needs a strategic rollout to capture attention and drive engagement. You’ve invested in a new brand—now, make sure you get the return on that investment with a thoughtful and well-executed launch. Campfire & Co. teamed up with Hodges to help evolve our…
When Chesterfield County wanted to engage more directly with its community, they envisioned a solution that would bring information and resources directly to residents, in effect, meeting them where they were. Enter the Mobile Information and Resource Vehicle (MIRV), the county’s first information center on wheels, designed to inform residents and visitors about the diverse attractions and resources available throughout the county. Turning a Retired Ambulance Into a Community Connector Chesterfield County partnered with our creative team to transform a retired ambulance into their engaging…
When I reflect on the most significant moments in my life, I think of the mentors who shaped them. Since beginning my journey in public relations, I’ve been fortunate to experience mentorship in many forms and settings. As I continue navigating this ever-evolving industry, the impact of mentors has only become more important. Why Mentorship Matters Whether you’ve got a decade of skin in the game or are finding your footing in your first role, mentorship is an invaluable tool at every stage of your…
In our latest episode of Teaming Up, Adrienne Maxwell teams up with Addison Clark’s Anne-Stuart Teter to explore all things search engine optimization. Addison Clark has been behind Hodges’ SEO for several years, while also supporting clients like Virginia Spirits in its optimization efforts. SEO goes well beyond identifying the right keywords to have on your pages: there are both content and technical implications that have to constantly be monitored and adjusted to keep your business ranked where you want it. Episode Highlights The importance…
The third part of the year-long process was to examine whether we were still a public relations firm. Our industry has changed so much since our founding in 2002. What we communicate, how we communicate and what our clients expect is so different in 2025. We started with media relations as our focus, but what the media is today is light years away from what it was back then. We charged Casey Prentice and an internal team to ask and answer the questions, “Are we…
As you can see, Hodges has been busy getting our new brand up and running, so we were a little bit behind launching the newest season of Teaming Up – but we’re back! In this episode, Diana McMahon, vice president of InUnison, joins Meg Irvin, APR in conversation about all things local (and in our case, all things Richmond). The pair talked about InUnison’s mission to support locally owned, independent businesses in central Virginia, while also breaking down some of the benefits and advantages of…
True confession. We bought our original “h” logo for about a hundred bucks. Neither Josh nor I can remember who designed it, but we think it was the boyfriend of someone we knew. We do remember that he handed it to us on a floppy disk though a car window in downtown Richmond. Thanks to Tony Scida, the colors of the logo changed over the years from blue on blue to adopting the greens, yellows and blues that ZZ Top-bearded Chris McCray used to design…
We knew for about a year that we’d have to move The Hodges Partnership out of its long-time home in Shockoe Bottom. Our lease was coming due and the building owners wanted to convert the historic building and its neighbors into residential units. But for us it was more than that. We had run out of functional space. We had little collaborative space. And Shockoe Bottom never took off. The decision to move was easy. But what we wanted to accomplish was more than just…
From a young age, Breyana knew she wanted to work in communications. She once dreamed of becoming the next Oprah, majoring in broadcast journalism before realizing her passion lay behind the scenes—building relationships, telling meaningful stories and shaping narratives. That realization led her to public relations, where she thrives on connection and creativity. For Breyana, the excitement of PR comes from seeing her work in action. Whether it’s landing a media placement or watching a piece of content resonate with an audience, she thrives on…
Social media news posts are hard to write, especially in today’s climate, because social media news IS the news and things change quickly. It’s hard not to get political about this post when almost every story below is a short step away from a political landmine. There are enough examples of Supreme Court cases, presidential pandering and “eat the rich” storylines below, you’d think we were giving you the plot of a new Netflix drama. But alas, this is real life. Here are the four…
