Editor's note: Great job by Tony Scida and Casey Ferguson on our new website. One of the features that's explained below is "responsive design" which basically means the site grows and shrinks to accommodate the computer or mobile device that you're using. To best illustrate, view the site on your laptop and then your smart phone. Or just look at the images below. Cool, huh? We think so. Enjoy.-JN When I started at Hodges, the first thing I wanted to do was update the website….
Read MoreIt could have been the "level" of the people in the room since it was billed as a professional development session. It could have been the amount of attention, time and effort people are spending on social media these days. It could have been a lot of factors coming together at once. But I came away extremely impressed with the group at spoke to and with at PRSARVA's professional development event last Friday. Here are the presentation slides for all who want to take a…
Read MoreIt wasn't an easy call to make, especially at 6 in the morning. I had to call Jennifer Pounders and tell her "you know that PRSARVA professional development session that I'm supposed to be leading in a hour? Well, THAT's not going to happen…" She handled the curve ball with her usual grace and proceeded to call all the folks who had registered. Thanks, Jen. Long story short, I found out after a doctors visit that I had walking pneumonia and it was probably a…
Read MoreOK, here we go. Time for your daily dose of blasphemy on this Thursday. Hold on to your hats but this is something that's been bothering me for a while especially as a personally stand one foot in each bucket. Are we spending too much time focusing on social media when good old-fashioned public and media relations still works just fine? Before you say Jon, we can and should do both, I will quickly agree with you but add that maybe we should prioritize the…
Read Moreby Alissa Pak, member of THP's "lux" team The next time one of the recent Mega Millions winners happens to breeze past a newsstand, they certainly won’t have a shortage of reading materials to flip through. Though some may call the current economic outlook uncertain, for four magazine publications it’s anything but as they launch their new titles. Not exactly aimed at the populist sect, these magazines won’t be everyday reading material unless you count yourself among the 1 percent of society. Are you a…
Read MoreWe at The Hodges Partnership have been developing a luxury practice over the last couple years. As with most things, the perception of luxury depends on the lens used. I wanted to take a moment and discuss what luxury means to us and why we are so passionate for this sector. If you turn to the dictionary, you will find definitions of abundance, extravagance and the enjoyment of pleasures or comforts that are not absolutely necessary. Some equate luxury with items bearing exorbitant price tags. Others…
Read MoreNBA Commissioner David Stern should give Jeremy Lin a kiss. Not the peck on the cheek variety but a big old sloppy one that leaves the recipient in a flabbergasted haze for five minutes. Consider that a week ago the NBA was its usual boring self with games not decided till the last two minutes. This was complicated by the fact that the lockout created a crammed schedule of games leading to crippled play on the court as teams were forced to play three nights…
Read MoreJust a quick reminder about the first #PRRVACHAT on Twitter this Wednesday night at 8pm on Twitter. Some of the discussion topics will include: Komen and the long-term PR damage. What is the true PR value of Super Bowl advertising? Are we seeing a shift away from Facebook to Twitter and other social platforms especially by younger users? The chat will last an hour and is a great way to discuss these topics and network online. Each topic will be discussed for about ten minutes…
Read MoreOne of the most underrated ways to take advantage of all Twitter has to offer is through one of its many regular chat sessions. These are regularly scheduled sessions related to specific topics that are facilitated by using one of Twitter's famous hashtags. One of my favorite chats is the regular #PR20CHAT which has PR pros around the country responding to specific questions or trends that are posed by facilitators. So it got me thinking why not try this on a local #RVA level. We…
Read MoreSome quick hitters for a Tuesday: We (Britt Farrah @saidlikefarrah) and I started our second semester teaching social media at VCU yesterday some interesting observations from questions we asked our predominantly PR majors… Most of them preferred Twitter over Facebook and other social media platforms. In the couple of years that I've been asking college students this question, this is the first time ever that they selected Twitter. In fact, this is the first time that most of the class even was "on" Twitter. Maybe…
Read MoreEditor's note: This post is a guest post from THP's "Employee Number One" Stacey Brucia, who mans New York PR and social media outpost. I’ve been watching CNN today and now have NY local news on in the background. And a top story of the day is Anthony Bourdain’s tweet that’s a hit against Paula Deen. It’s follow-up story to Deen’s announcement yesterday that she is a spokesperson for a diabetes drug company. I’d name then, but then I’m giving them more PR. And that’s…
Read MoreWhile this cautionary tale (click below) seems to end well, it is interesting how some feel they can and should try to control access to products or news to gain favor of journalists or in this case to avoid negative commentary. Blacklisting in various forms has been used as a marketing tool for years, rarely to this extent though. Click here for story from arstechnica.com UPDATE: Within the hour, this tweet was released by 2K Games, The Rednar Group's client… 2K Games does not endorse…
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