As Jon Newman has pointed out, some of us are rather fond of Star Trek references here at The Hodges Partnership. Personally, I’ve been known to watch a little Star Trek Voyager. In one of the worst episodes of that series, titled “Threshold,” Tom Paris successfully breaks the Warp 10 barrier and soon thereafter realizes he’s transforming into a pink salamander. I thought of this episode as I considered the speed at which organizations must make communications decisions when faced with fast-escalating scandals. Things can…
Read MoreLast month, I spent two weeks traveling through China to complete my final class as a graduate student at VCU. The course, Public Relations & Journalism in China, was a cultural and educational experience that I will never forget. Before the trip I tried to prepare myself for culture shock by attempting to brush up on some Mandarin—total fail, I entered the country knowing how to say “hello,” “thank you,” and “I love you panda bear”—but one of the things I was most unsure about was what…
Read MoreOnce again, Mary Meeker’s latest Internet Trends report has tons of interesting nuggets on worldwide Internet usage. Overall, there are now 2.4 billion Internet users across the world. And that number is growing, fast. The report includes 117 pages of data and insights, but what does it mean for the PR industry? Here are nine takeaways and their implications for PR professionals: TV and Internet top media consumption: 42 percent of America’s media diet is dedicated to television; another 26 percent goes to the Internet….
Read MoreRecently, I’ve gone back to the classroom. This classroom wasn’t at a university, but in a training center for a client of Hodges, but nonetheless, being in the environment got me thinking. My mother was a teacher and I HATED summer vacation. I loved school. Not because I was a sacrilegious student, but I loved learning and I was bored at home. I lived for the challenge of learning new material, getting lost in an assignment and competing with myself (ok, and with others) to…
Read MoreIt’s always nice when you can add “award-winning” in front of words like ‘agency’ and ‘campaign.’ And last night at the Virginia Public Relations Awards, put on by PRSA Richmond, we were honored to be able to add some more award-winning work to our portfolio. Kudos to all of our PRSA friends who took home top awards this week. We may not have taken home Best in Show this year but we’re grateful to our clients who brought us these interesting and fun projects. Below…
Read MoreWhile I know I’m not alone, I do know that I’m among the small percentage of professionals who have only practiced public relations in the digital age. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and online news sites have always been a part of my media mix. But with so much information out there and different vehicles to carry the message it can be tricky to know which outlets and influencers really carry weight and can make an impact on a brand’s goals. Get this, legend has it that…
Read MoreLast week, Gawker Media owner Nick Denton told employees to keep headlines under 70 characters. Why? Google search. Denton explained, “Why this drastic measure? Google and others truncate headlines at 70 characters. On the Manti Teo story, Deadspin’s scoop fell down the Google search results, overtaken by copycat stories with simpler headlines.” This announcement has implications for communications professionals writing and distributing releases over the wire. The lesson? Keep those headlines short and to the point. Historically, headlines have been way too long. According to…
Read MoreThanks again for the great turnout today at the PRSA Richmond lunch. It’s great to see so many people passionate about what we do, especially in the ever-evolving area of social med…opps, sorry, content management and public relations. Due to popular demand, here’s the presentation for you to use and share. Content Is King 3/27/13 #PRSARVA from jonnewman12 Thanks also for all the great questions at the end. It is always interesting to gauge the evolution of what we do and how we’re trying to…
Read MoreOK, another cheap attempt to tie blog content into March Madness, I know. But in this case I feel pretty justified. Ask anyone who works with me, ask my wife and kids. I’ve been obsessing over this #PRSARVA presentation on content I’m giving on March 27 (I hear tickets are going fast so register here). I actually wrote a first draft during the VCU-A10 finals yesterday. If that’s not madness I don’t know what is. Contributing to the madness is the fact that the recent…
Read MoreI must admit that when I was approached to present to PRSA Richmond a few months ago, I bristled. Not because I didn’t want to talk (who ever knew me to not want to talk) but because I was asked to talk about social media. I never wanted to be the “social media guy” especially now since social media as we knew it so different and THP as an agency doesn’t view it as a separate piece of the PR puzzle. It is as much a…
Read MoreIt’s rare that I use this space to brag about our work, but brag I must. We just added a new case study to the front of our website. It’s the first thing most people see when coming to the site so the work and results need to literally jump out at you. That’s the case in our recent work for Reginald’s Homemade. We take pride in working for all our clients, but we especially love taking small relatively unknown brands and putting them on the…
Read MoreThinking about the Carnival Cruise Line floating disaster, I am trying to put myself in the place of those that endured days of insufferable hot air, of ubiquitous stench and of that panicky sense of confinement when you know there are no options for escape. Yes, I’m talking about Carnival’s PR team. You have to feel for them, a group that likely spends most of its time arranging “fam” tours for reporters and devising fun social media promotions to keep its image modern and fresh,…
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