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…
Read MoreA strong, effective social media strategy has always been built on asking a host of thoughtful questions about your stakeholders and goals. “What platforms are our customers on? Which platforms allow us to tell our story most effectively?” Up until recently, though, choosing to be on certain platforms didn’t carry a risk of potentially alienating people because they see it as your brand aligning with a certain political ideology. But in 2025, that’s exactly where we are. Organizations face more scrutiny than ever regarding the…
Read MoreSocial 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…
Read MoreFor our final episode of the year, we’re going back to the podcast roots by pairing up two Hodgers in conversation. It only seemed appropriate to close out our latest season with a conversation with our founders to talk about all the Hodges’ happenings our team has been going through this year. In this episode, you’ll get the TL;DR version of the journey we’ve taken as an agency over the last 12 months, and you’ll get a sneak peek at what’s to come in 2025….
Read MoreJon and I recently had some fun strolling down memory lane as we recorded an episode of our Teaming Up podcast. The topic was our early December move to our new expansive offices in Scott’s Addition, abandoning the familiarity of our Shockoe Bottom home where we have held court for 19 of the agency’s 22 years. Moving, as most of you know, is not for the faint of heart. When we first pulled up stakes from our Shockoe Slip office, it was out of necessity – we…
Read MoreCue the music: happy birthday to us. This week, we’re blowing out four candles on The Phil’s b-day cake, marking an anniversary with many slices of gratitude to go around. The timing feels particularly appropriate, coinciding for the most part with Giving Tuesday. After all, when we created The Phil, we saw it in many ways as a gift to Virginia’s nonprofit community, a community that was long on heroic stories and short on places to tell those stories. Back then, we envisioned The Phil…
Read MoreIn the competitive world of travel and tourism, successfully promoting a destination demands a strategic fusion of storytelling, relationship building and innovative marketing techniques. Winning campaigns go beyond simply showcasing attractions; they create an emotional connection that resonates with potential visitors. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to attend the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference in Greenville, S.C. Engaging with and hearing from industry experts—including travel journalists, influencers and fellow PR professionals—left me feeling inspired for my own client work. It also highlighted the…
Read MoreEach month, we bring together a curated list of networking and educational events happening throughout the Richmond region. This November, dive into a calendar packed with coffee meetups and happy hours to fuel your networking goals! We hope to see you at an event in November soon! November AMA Coffee Chat Hosted by AMA Richmond Friday, Nov. 1 from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. at The Smoky Mug, 15 E Brookland Park Blvd. Learn more and register for this event. HYPE Happy Hour at Cabo…
Read MoreIf you travel to a new city and don’t find yourself thinking, “I could totally live here one day,” was it really a successful trip? Did it live up to your 20 saved TikTok recommendations claiming, “You haven’t experienced the city until you’ve gone to this locals-only restaurant,” or “Here are the top 10 non-touristy things to do the next time you’re in [insert destination]. Make sure to like and follow for more!”? As cliché as it sounds, it truly is more about the journey…
Read MoreEveryone has experienced creative blocks, whether you’re a writer, a designer or an artist. Staring at that blank page or canvas can become so intimidating. Your mind can feel empty, and the project can feel impossible. But don’t worry. With these helpful tips, you can overcome it. Take a break Step away from your project for a moment. If you’ve been ruminating on it all day, your brain is likely fatigued and needs a break. Try switching to smaller tasks or another side project. Or…
Read MoreIn this episode, Alejandro Leon and Adriana Velasquez discuss the nuances of Hispanic communications in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Adriana, born in Lima, Peru, and Alejandro, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida with roots in Colombia, share their experiences with bilingualism, cultural differences and how that all ties into marketing and communication. Episode Highlights Bilingualism and Spanglish Nuances with translations and origins of audience Matching the tactic to the audience This is a great episode for any communicator or marketer that simply translated some copy into…
Read MoreAhead of the presidential election, celebrities and influencers have made (quite possibly) a bigger political splash than ever before. Whether it includes joining the #NationalVoterRegistrationDay movement or explicitly endorsing a candidate – which, for Taylor Swift, means racking up more than 400,000 users to vote.gov from a singular Instagram post, we’re reminded that the power of influence matters and those who wield it have the power to spark action and sway opinion (according to 19% of young voters). Why It Matters Aside from playing a part…
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