Meet a Hodger: Hannah Robinson

The Hodges ranks have expanded once again, and we think out of our entire roster, Hannah Robinson has the most interesting “first week at Hodges” stories to date. Hannah’s first day in the office also happened to be her last. You see, she started the day before our office went to full-time teleworking thanks to COVID-19. But even in just a few short weeks, Hannah has become an all star on the team – diving into her account work and engaging with her colleagues like she’s sitting less than six feet away from them.

From being the voice of James Madison University, where she worked as a media relations coordinator, to moving across the Commonwealth to join our team, Hannah is the newest addition to our team and we’re so excited to have her.

Without further ado, please meet Hannah Robinson.

Why did you decide on a career in PR?

In college, PR wasn’t something I specialized in. I was as an interpersonal communications major. By the time graduation came around, I was applying to a lot of different jobs. A position opened at JMU in its public relations office for media relations. It ended up being everything I loved: being a liaison between two people. What I love about PR is that it’s so diverse, you can do so many different things in a day. It’s never boring, it’s super exciting. Being able to make connections for a living is incredible, so why not?

Your LinkedIn says you’re a voice actor – that’s exciting! Tell us more.

I was the go-to for voiceover work, and it’s a funny story because I fell into it. My last job was an all-hands-on-deck office. One day, my colleague who usually does the voiceover work for videos lost his voice, and he couldn’t do the shoot that day. He came over to me and asked if I could stand in for him. It must have gone really well, because I started doing all the voiceovers and then I became the face of an entire video series. It was a talent I didn’t know I had and something I really enjoyed doing.

Can you think of a PR campaign that you particularly admire?

Popeyes’ chicken sandwich campaign was great. Using social media to call out competitors and rally up the competition of who had the best sandwich. They ended up facing a little bit of a crisis because no one could find one. They ended up launching an app to help people find sandwiches. They transformed the crisis into this fun thing. Their mistakes weren’t the end of their effort, it was an opportunity to further expand the brand.

You just moved here, but do you have a favorite Richmond eatery?

I actually don’t have a favorite yet! When I was first applying to Hodges, I went to Ironclad – and it was so good, every time I came back to Richmond, I’d go there. I have an allegiance to it. But I’m excited to find more spots soon.

What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?

I was a musical theatre geek. I did musicals as a kid and I was in show choir for four years. My first musical was “Annie,” and ever since then I’ve been involved in the arts. Something else, I have a weird obsession with tiny houses. Living off the grid and living sustainably. I would love to one day build my own tiny house.