There’s an irony to many public relations professionals’ work. While this is a generalized definition of our industry, so much of what we do is promoting an organization’s message and expertise to its audiences. But just as the cobbler’s children have no shoes, often we don’t take the time to do the same for our own work. One way to demonstrate your PR know-how is by winning PR awards! If you’ve never gone after awards before, or haven’t had success with them in the past,…
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 MoreIt’s early afternoon at The Hodges Partnership, and there’s a conspicuous quietude, the kind that makes you suspicious, that gives you that feeling that something is going on, and you’re the only one not in on it. “Where,” you think, “IS everyone?” And then you remember, it’s PRSA lunch day. That our office clears out on such occasions is no surprise; in fact, it’s encouraged. We want our folks to not only take advantage of the professional development opportunities through PRSA but to get involved…
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 MoreLet’s take stock in 2014 — the highs and lows, the gong-able and wrong-able moments of the year. The Gong Show. That yard-wide brass gong in our lobby is not there for some staff production of The Mikado; it’s for celebrating client success — loudly and with enough reverberation to affect the drive-thru window at McDonald’s across the street. Among 2014 media hits still ringing in our ears: Reginald’s Homemade peanut butter made a star turn on the TODAY Show and in the pages of Cooking with…
Read MoreIn the summer of 2002, Jon Newman and I decided to tie our fortunes together by severing our umbilical cord to The Martin Agency and finding a place to hang a shingle of our own. Our first question: what would we put on that shingle? We bandied about some ideas, quickly determining that we didn’t want to name our inchoate agency after ourselves – thereby forestalling any discussion about top billing. Nor were we inclined to come up with some catchy name that we might…
Read MoreJust a few weeks ago on July 1, The Hodges Partnership celebrated its 12th birthday. Celebrations ensued—the annual baseball outing—a Nats game this year—as well as lunch in D.C. and a visit to The Newseum. Celebrations aside, what better time than an anniversary to reflect on the past, the present and what’s next for Hodges? I sat down with founders Jon and Josh last week to chat with them about all of that: What are your proudest accomplishments for Hodges? Jon Newman: Lots of things….
Read MoreAsk anyone who knows me even casually and they’ll tell you I’m a baseball guy. Most would be surprised, however, to find that the event I most wanted to see—and had to pre-order tickets more than a year in advance—at the Summer Olympics in my hometown Atlanta was the gold-medal women’s soccer game. The United States edged China 2-1 on Tiffeny Milbrett’s goal with about 22 minutes to play, and the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium rocked a patriotic fervor. In the aftermath of soccer’s…
Read MoreOver the weekend a few of my fellow Hodgers and I attended an HTML & CSS Coding Bootcamp held by the awesome folks at 804RVA. One of the great things about working at THP is the Js’ (our nickname for Jon and Josh) generosity and propensity for encouraging us to learn new skills, attend workshops or just to pursue things that interest us. So when a group of us expressed interest in attending the bootcamp and learning more about coding, they happily obliged. Through the…
Read MoreIf you’re a Millennial, chances are you’re reading this article with headphones on. Can you do me a favor? Take them out (or turn them down). According to a 2012 survey conducted by Harris Interactive, almost half (48 percent) of adults aged 25-29 listen to music on an iPod, MP3 player or similar device at work. Since then, services like Spotify and Rdio have taken the Internet by storm, so I’m confident that percentage is even larger. I get it, music makes us happier! Some…
Read MoreOK, so it’s been a pretty good year. No, scratch that. It’s been a great year. 2013 is the year our relationships ended with two of our longest-tenured and largest clients. And yes, it still was a great year. In one case we knew it was coming, in the other case it was our decision. By now you’re asking “How did you survive?” The main reason? Our people. In 2013 we still thrived, and as we enter 2014, we are positioned not only to survive,…
Read MoreBecause of the recent Supreme Court ruling on payments for interns, folks who run businesses big and small have debated the ultimate value of internships. Amazing what happens when you throw money into the mix, isn’t it? But are business owners and managers (especially in the PR and marketing world) doing everything they can to make sure their interns succeed? THP’s Lindsay Grant provides Seven Tips For Being An All-Star PR Intern Manager. The tips are so good, the post is featured today on Ragan’s…
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