Our Roster: Meet Tony Scida

With a blended love for the arts and business, Tony Scida is the perfect fit as our director of creative services. He’s a Virginia native from Stafford, and he began his career working for the Arts Council of Fairfax County. After relocating to Richmond, Tony found himself “accidentally” falling into a career at The Hodges Partnership. He noticeably enjoys it, because he’s been with us for more than 10 years.

Before his career began, Tony attended Shenandoah University, obtaining an Arts Management degree. It was during this time that Tony studied the trumpet, leading to his current involvement with local arts groups. During his time at Shenandoah, Tony also worked in the campus PR office, which helped lead him to his career today. 

Tony’s musical undertakings include the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra, the Richmond Pops Band, the Metropolitan British Brass Band of Central Virginia and Classical Revolution RVA, where he is President of the Board.

Keep reading to learn more about our very own, Tony Scida.

How did you decide on a career in PR?

My career at a PR agency came together accidentally; I didn’t chase it. Originally, I relocated to Richmond to work for an ad agency. Unfortunately, hard times hit and I was laid off. I began freelancing and did some work for Hodges. My first job at the Arts Council included some PR and even though I had moved out the field for a bit, I was excited to jump back into it when the opportunity arose. Agency work excites me because of the ability to work on something different every day. Sometimes you walk into work thinking your day is going to go one way and then it’s completely blown up. I’m sure there are people that wouldn’t like that kind of environment, but I enjoy it.

What made you choose to work at Hodges?

While I was doing freelance work for Hodges, I was able to meet some of the people and really get to know them. One day I received a Twitter direct message from Jon. It was something like, “Hey, are you looking for a full-time job?” Although I wasn’t necessarily coming from a traditional PR background, Jon saw something in me that he thought would be a good fit for Hodges, and I knew from my experiences freelancing and getting to know Hodges folks at industry events that THP was a smart group of people I would love to work with.

Can you think of a campaign that you particularly admire? What about it stands out to you?

That’s a tough one. My favorite campaigns are the ones that build on what’s great about a company or product. The Spotify year in review (and in 2019, decade in review) campaign is so good because it not only focuses on what’s great about Spotify and provides real value to users, who can look back over their listening habits, but it is also seemingly impossible not to share some aspect of your results.

Have you ever been involved in any email faux pas? 

Outlook, in particular, will aggressively autocomplete email addresses and I’ve had a few experiences where I sent emails to the wrong person, unknowingly. Typically, people are nice about it and just say, “Was this meant for me?”

I’ve also been on the other end of it. At several of my previous jobs, my bosses were named different variations of Tony and I would get emails meant for them. This was always interesting, so make sure to check your email “to” field before hitting send!

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

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Marine when I grew up, just like my dad. I even went as far as dropping out of the Boy Scouts and joining the Young Marines! I thought that this would be my future, until I discovered music and knew early on that I wanted to be a musician.

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