This will be my last post until after the new year (we’ll get to New Year’s resolutions in a second). So from all of us to all of you here’s our THP Happy Hodgerdays eCard with tons of stuff about us, what we like during the holidays and some appropriate tunes from our friends at Spotify. Have fun, share the card, be safe during the holidays. On the flip side you’ll be hearing a lot more from us, a variety of us. We’re putting a blog schedule together. …
Read More(Editor's note: BTW, I always refer to it as news release. The old TV guy in me. -JN) Late last month the intersection of technology, journalism and public relations was sent into a tizzy when a number of news sites fell for a phony press release posted to PRWeb in an apparent attempt to game the stock market. While other postulate whether this is a nail in the coffin of PR, journalism, Google News or all of the above (and what’s next), I wanted to…
Read MoreI really love Richmond. I’ve called it home for the past 27 years. As a Fan-dweller, I enjoy being able to walk to restaurants, parks and the ultimate Richmond destination: my friends’ porches. The 8-minute drive to The Hodges Partnership is also a perk. How people survive 45 minute commutes, I will never know. As a young professional, our agency has some great perks: flexible schedules, a fun environment, collaborative culture and other things like agency-wide pizza (and beer) brainstorms and an annual baseball outing….
Read More*For a refresher on Boolean algebra go here. Are mobile, social and web three separate entities anymore? Not when you consider the following: The number of smart-phone users, world-wide just crossed the 1 billion mark. In the U.S., approximately 87 percent use their phones to access the web and other apps (25 percent of whom, primarily use their mobile devices to access the web). More than half of Facebook’s 1 billion users access the platform through their mobile devices, while 18 percent of whom don’t…
Read More(Quick editor's note: There are few better at getting the word out about events than Cam. Great ingredient list below. -JN) I’m fortunate to work at an organization that encourages employees to volunteer and give back to the community. As a guy who loves to work with nonprofits, this makes me so happy. Throughout the year, in and outside of work, I help nonprofits publicize their events to the public. It’s not only an opportunity to fundraiser for a cause, it also gives the nonprofit…
Read MoreA belated congrats to everyone who contributed to the recent Outside Magazine story that declared Richmond as the Best River Town in America. This story has been literally years in the making and is tied into a broader strategy first embraced by groups like the Sports Backers and Venture Richmond. That strategy is to promote Richmond as a participatory sports town focusing on events like the Marathon and Riverrock and as a vibrant river community with events like the Folk Festival. The story is great,…
Read MoreThis is a big week for me. In the next week or so I'm going to see Bruce Springsteen live. Twice. In the past I might have fallen victim to the same "crutch" that other blogger sometimes depend on. I'll admit to it, I've also done it in the past. That's taking something you are doing or are passionate about and stretching that into a blog post about three or five or seven lessons you can learn from that person or thing. At first it…
Read MoreRecently a Chick-fil-A executive made a statement that caused a bit of a stir in the media and, especially, online. Yesterday, Gizmodo reported that Chick-fil-A (or someone representing them) created fake Facebook accounts (complete with stock photo profile photos) just to defend the company online. Chick-fil-A denies this charge, but it brings up a very important piece of advice for companies trying to navigate the digital landscape: Do not make fake accounts. It’s awfully tempting for companies that see criticism online to want to jump…
Read MoreI know I've been a bit of a slacker on the blog side recently. The truth is I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about the future and the direction of PR and how it fits in the social and digital universe. I've got some posts "written" in my brain and I will share them with you in the near future. I've also been thinking about the past since THP is celebrating its tenth anniversary this week. It's been a fun, wild ride so…
Read MoreEditor'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 MoreThe ultimate expression of "brand love" is an icon on the Home screen of mobile devices. Our devices are so personal and ubiquitous, that any apps we download and keep, are an extension of our identity. True enough that many of our devices are a junkyard for apps – long forgotten and seldom used. But others are so addictive, we wonder how we lived "pre app." At HDS we just launched an app that I hope will be an incredibly handy resource for many people. …
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…
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