There really are no words. More than 30 years ago I started my television news career in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market working for the “Lynchburg station” WSET-13 out of the Roanoke bureau. We had three people (two reporters and a videographer) in our office. Across the street was the headquarters of “Your Hometown Station” WDBJ-7. They were, and still are, the model small-to-medium market news and television operation that others can just aspire to be. They had reporters and anchors who never left because they were…
Read More7.8 billion. Those of us in PR and marketing immediately knew there was a problem because we’ve all experienced it before. How do you reasonably measure the success of media exposure? It’s the age old question. It’s a question that once again reared its ugly head when reports circulated that the Redskins claimed more than 7.8 billion people (that’s more than the total population of the earth) were exposed to stories of the 2014 Redskins training camp in Richmond. It was the Redskins’ version of…
Read MoreAfter sitting through hundreds if not thousands of public relations new business meetings, I’ve come to (at least) one universal conclusion: Potential clients wait until the absolute last minute to decide that they need to work with a PR firm. I really don’t know why this is the case. It doesn’t happen (as much) to our advertising brothers and sisters who are usually given months to do research, generate creative treatments, present final ideas, place media and then track results. Perhaps it’s because folks still…
Read MoreSo where did the first half of 2015 go? You blink and six months are gone. We’ve been busy on many levels—not only in workload but in making some fundamental changes to our agency: what we do and how we do it. These changes mirror what’s going on in the PR industry and marketing in general. Our clients count on us to stay abreast of the latest tools and technology of the trade. While we still do work that you’d expect a traditional PR firm…
Read MoreIt’s was only a matter of time. In fact I had three conversations this week about it before it happened telling folks it would be here before the end of the year. And it’s not like I’m that smart—it was just inevitable. Instagram is about to open up the floodgates. As reported in outlets like The New York Times and explained in more detail in places like TechCrunch, the marriage of Instagram and Facebook is leading to what will likely become a very profitable offspring….
Read MoreWe are very proud to announce a new assignment from one of Richmond’s premier companies, Connexions Loyalty. With a large workforce in Richmond and 800 associates worldwide, Connexions Loyalty manages some of the world’s largest customer-loyalty programs, delivering more than $2 billion in rewards and incentives annually. The integrated public relations assignment will focus primarily on business-to-business content marketing. We will be working with Connexions Loyalty to help tell its story to customers and prospects around the world. “At its core, content marketing is about…
Read MoreWe’re very happy to announce the signing of Alexandria Renew Enterprises as a new THP client. Our work for Alexandria Renew will focus on the “owned media” practice of content strategy and creation. It also continues to expand the THP client footprint into Northern Virginia, part of our goal to work with great clients through the Commonwealth. AlexRenew operates one of the most advanced wastewater reclamation facilities in the United States, serving the City of Alexandria and redefining what it means to be an environmental…
Read MoreYou’re hearing a lot from me on the “Integrated” Public Relations model of earned, owned and paid media. It is a drum I will continue to beat frequently. It is that paid piece that was the focus of today’s Hodges Starters event “Beyond Boosting,” presented very capably by Emily Shane and Kelsey Leavey. They and others at THP have gone above and beyond by self-teaching themselves and staying ahead of the latest social advertising tools on various platforms. IMHO, any PR agency who does not…
Read MoreMy daughter and I knew we were in trouble when we saw a filled Target parking lot just before eight on a Sunday morning. Then we saw the line of (mostly) women wind around the side of the store. It was then we knew of plans of scoring some of the coveted Target-Lilly Pulitzer merchandise that both companies had been promoting for months was slowly fading into the pastel-colored horizon. We actually knew about an hour earlier when I tried Target.com only to find the…
Read MoreRemember the beginnings of Twitter when everyone told everyone what they were doing at that moment whether everyone else really cared or not. Oops, that’s still Twitter… Imagine that but doing it using live video and you’ve got the current state of Periscope and Meerkat. Those are the new live video apps that allow folks to live broadcast whatever they are doing wherever they are doing it and promote viewership through Twitter. This post will not debate the merits of one versus the other (Periscope…
Read MoreEarned, owned, shared, paid. They are the four words that make up the cornerstone of public relations in 2015. Native advertising and sponsored content are the phrases that are thrown around interchangeably to describe buying your (content’s) way onto a third-party website. But the Holy Grail is brand journalism. It gives you the ability to truly control your content in a way that both exemplifies your brand and reaches your target audience. Until recently I thought it was nothing more than a pipedream. That is…
Read MoreFirst, thanks for all the comments and kudos for last week's maiden Vlog voyage. We want this to be a true conversation and we'd love some suggested topics as well. This week we tackle the confusion over the terms and phrases used to describe how we sponsor, boost and amplify all the content we're creating. Traditional, online, and social platforms all offer their own ways to get people to see what you write, shoot and post. It's important to know your options and how you should describe…
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