We recently had the opportunity to meet with channel 8’s new Vice President and General Manager, Larry Cottrill. We welcomed him in Hodges fashion (with food) during our monthly “pizza storm” where we brainstorm topics over a pizza lunch. Since arriving to Richmond, Larry has really taken the time to get to know the city and local industry, meeting with other agencies, executives, nonprofits and more. Hodges had the honor of being his 78th meeting. Larry and the Hodges team got to know each other…
Read MoreThere’s nothing more exciting and exhilarating than hearing your name called when a fancy crystal trophy is involved. This year’s Virginia PR Awards, hosted by PRSA Richmond, were held at the Jefferson Hotel – and around 300 of the Commonwealth’s finest public relations and communications professionals celebrated their successes over libations and the obligatory chicken entrée and with Cheryl Miller (who has emceed the event nine years and counting). The Hodges Partnership was part of eight of the evening’s awards, but the one that we’re…
Read MoreDominic Toretto may live his life a quarter-mile at a time, but for PR people, we live ours one quarter-hour at a time. One of the most asked questions by prospective interns and students is, “What is a typical day like in an agency?” The short answer: there isn’t a typical day. One day you could be entirely dedicated to one project or client, and the next day you could be working on three or four clients (or five or six clients). Tack on administrative…
Read MoreI am a blue. I’m a coordinating observer who likes to take in my surroundings then retreat to process them…alone. A data-driven algorithm told me this, and I have faith in that, because I am a blue. Hodges participated in an Insights Discovery workshop, hosted and facilitated by Floricane, a management consultancy firm, which helped us tap into the various workplace personalities that make up the agency. THP invested resources in this day-long activity to give us the opportunity to increase our self-awareness and to…
Read MoreIf you already subscribe to our monthly newsletter, aptly named the Press Box, you might’ve noticed we’re doing things a little differently this year. Don’t worry, we’re still sharing some of our latest client news and celebrating our office culture, but we’ve added a section we’re calling “The Rundown” which will keep you informed of the latest media relations, content marketing and social media trends we’re seeing. We like to think of it as the Skimm or NextDraft for PR (and marketing) folks (or at…
Read MoreI always use the start of a new year to examine different methods to do better, more efficient work. From meetings across campus to monthly reports (and pitching subject matter experts in between), staying on top of it all can be daunting. But have no fear, here are four apps that will make your life easier as a college communicator: Texture ($9.99 per month): Keeping up with magazine journalists’ stories and columns takes time and big budgets as subscriptions add up. With a monthly subscription…
Read MoreWe’re a couple weeks out from Hodges’ first-ever Facebook live event and still I find it hard to watch the archived video. Don’t get me wrong, the event exceeded our expectations and the feedback from viewers was amazing. In fact, someone even recognized Jon at a downtown restaurant and asked him if he was the guy from the Facebook live event…in our minds, we’re stars! The reality, however, is that it’s hard to watch and listen to recorded versions of ourselves – we’re our own worst…
Read MoreEarlier this year, an innovative new project launched within the Washington Monthly’s website to highlight the good work of foundations across the U.S. Successes of Philanthropy isn’t just a new column from the D.C.-based magazine that traditionally covers politics and government. It’s a stellar example of brand journalism, one that is funded entirely by nine foundations. The project’s founder and curator Jeff Hamond explained the reason for the effort in a Successes of Philanthropy post: In America, more so than in other countries, philanthropies play…
Read MoreMeasurement and public relations haven’t always been the best bedfellows. Advertising value equivalency was long heralded as the go-to metric for media relations, only to be debunked later by PR scholars. Even when the impact of a positive news story could be measured, in terms of reputation building, for example, it always was difficult not to be outshone by marketing, who could more clearly make the connection between their efforts and sales – the ultimate objective for many executives and managers. We knew our work…
Read MoreAs we take stock of our blessings during Thanksgiving week 2016, Jon and I have much to be grateful for. Our health is mostly good, notwithstanding a few aches and pains. Our wives continue to put up with us. Both the Mets and Orioles made the playoffs. Our kids are nice people. Bruce’s tour stopped not far away and my golf index dipped (ever so briefly) into single digits. We still have most of our hair and teeth, and Richmond has a new mayor who…
Read MoreWhen I set out to find my first job in public relations in late 1979, I did what many newly minted English majors did — pored through the classified section of The Washington Post, running my finger down the column past pharmacists and physical therapists, psychologists and public health workers, to that largely ambiguous category: public relations. I’m not sure I had a clear idea what public relations really was, but I knew it had something to do with writing, so I thought it would…
Read MoreThe Hodges Partnership’s higher education team recently spent three days at the 2016 College Media Conference in Washington, D.C. Organized by the Council of Independent Colleges and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the event included participation from about 100 colleges and universities, media panel discussions and great networking. How often do you get to spend a few days, talking PR with some of the best and brightest in the higher ed community? Kudos to the organizers – it was a great event….
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