You know the phrase singing from the same song sheet? If I could sum up in one sentence why the leadership team at most organizations could benefit from media training, that’s the essence of it. It gets everyone on the same page and using the same language in a way that few other exercises can. Let me take a step back. A few members of our team conducted a media training earlier this week for a company that was preparing for a big upcoming trade…
Read MoreWhen our clients announce new products, one of the best ways we can help spread the word is to get samples in the hands of influencers and media. It’s a fun part of media relations. Why sampling is good: Samples are a natural, cost-effective touchpoint and a great way to keep a brand top of mind with important contacts within the industry. When you see products in magazines or on broadcast segments, sampling is often where it all started. The goal is two-fold: first, to…
Read MoreThere have been a few recent client meetings where I’ve had a client stop and ask, “What can we be doing to make our relationship more productive?” That kind of question is music to any PR person’s ears. After all, it takes two to tango, as they say, and any relationship is better when all parties are working to make sure that it’s as effective as possible. If you work with a PR firm or you’re considering working with a partner on PR efforts in…
Read MoreMany times, when companies have news to share, the instinctive thinking is ”we need a news release.” But nowadays in particular, defaulting automatically to a release is not always the right approach. (See my post here with alternatives to a traditional press release.) To start, let’s acknowledge that news releases can be an effective communications tool, just as you know when and how to use one. The first two questions that you should always be asking: what about this is relevant and interesting to the…
Read MoreSo you’re sitting in a conference room talking about an announcement your company needs to make, you say, “We need a press release!” Wheels are set in motion, someone on the team takes on the assignment, and now your team is crafting something to send to media before you’ve even decided if it’s the right approach. News releases were once the go-to tool for PR professionals needing to share news about their client or organization. In today’s media landscape though, things have changed. News releases…
Read MoreAn ongoing request you’ll hear almost daily at The Hodges Partnership is, “Does anyone have time to proof this?” And with good reason. When you’ve spent a lot of one-on-one time with a news release, blog post or op-ed, it’s easy to overlook mistakes, and we all know how that goes – as soon as you hit send or press publish, then you notice there’s an extra word or typo. The good news? There’s hope, because there are a number of resources available (some that…
Read MoreIn the communications world, we often talk about knowing your story down pat. When the opportunity comes for an interview, you want to be ready to share who you are and communicate your core values and messages. But even more important than knowing it all cold is living those values and making good on them. We’ve had one great example of just that in the Richmond community this week. If you follow Richmond dining news (or even if you don’t as this made the front…
Read MoreWhen we talk to our clients about the best way to interact with customers, the familiar social media platforms often come to mind – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. But we also often advise clients to meet people where they are – and very often, that’s Google. For many of us, it’s the first place we go when we are looking for helpful information about a change in hours, an address or contact information for a business. To make the point, here’s an example of something that…
Read MoreThe rise in social media has created a new category of targets for public relations practitioners – the social influencer, or influencer for short. These are the folks who have established an online presence with a loyal following, and what they buy or eat or travel to can exert a great deal of, well, influence on particular brands. And so it was inevitable that a conference on influencer marketing would be born, and I found myself immersed in a New York City conference center for…
Read MoreWe talk a lot about workplace culture here at Hodges, and creating and contributing to an environment where coming to work every day is truly fun. On any given day, the Hodges culture might shine through in various ways – birthday celebrations, a Thanksgiving potluck, our annual baseball outing – but one piece we’re all particularly proud of is the numerous ways we’re able to volunteer our time in the community, whether it’s through sitting on boards where we can lend our public relations and…
Read MoreRemember when we told you about the work we do with Virginia Distillery Company and with other food and beverage clients? Add another one to the list, because we’ve recently started working with the HOUSEpitality Family, a local Richmond restaurant group that operates The Boathouse, Casa del Barco and Dinner in the Field. Our work includes media relations, community relations, social media, ongoing strategic counsel and more. As we work with all of our clients here at Hodges, one thing always comes to the surface:…
Read MoreWe love working with food and beverage clients here at The Hodges Partnership. In my time at Hodges, we’ve had the opportunity to work with clients like Reginald’s Homemade, Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants and Chuy’s Tex-Mex on a variety of different projects, from national media relations to grand openings. We hadn’t worked with a whisky client, though…until now. For the past year, we’ve assisted Lovingston, Virginia based Virginia Distillery Company with local, regional and national media relations efforts to promote the distillery along with…
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