The Gong Blog

When we celebrate wins at Hodges, we bang the gong. Our blog is home to wins and winning advice for our clients and friends.

Bonus Episode: Media Panel Q&A from Teaming Up Live

In this bonus episode, we’re giving you the Q&A portion from our Teaming Up Live event from earlier this summer. Senior Vice President Sean Ryan fields audience questions for Jason Fuller, a producer with NPR’s All Things Considered, and Adisa Hargett-Robinson, a former associate booking producer with ABC News.   Episode Highlights Who and how to pitch The impact of disinformation in the newsroom The use of AI in the newsroom

Lessons from BookTok and Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble is opening more stores than ever. When I saw this headline in Good Housekeeping, I admittedly did a double take. Behind the growth? Creators breathing new life – and community – into reading. How is TikTok, or more specifically #BookTok, supporting retail – and what can we learn from it? What exactly is #BookTok? The subcommunity emerged in 2020 and continues to help revive the sale of physical books. It all started with a hashtag. Cait Jacobs of @caitsbooks created the community…

Skeleton laying down on a laptop covered in sticky notes

Why social media managers sometimes need a digital detox, too. 

With the rise of social media comes a rise in doom scrolling, stress, anxiety and burnout. To combat these feelings, many people have started taking a digital detox. While many social media managers feel pressured to be constantly online to stay up to date on the latest trends, scrolling for hours can be detrimental to their work, brand and creativity. A digital detox is beneficial for all, even those who manage social media for a living, and we have three reasons why a detox is…

Red, White & Branded: The Rise of American-Made Marketing

Happy Independence Day! With the United States approaching its 250th anniversary in 2026, it feels fitting to spotlight the wave of patriotic energy shaping American-made marketing campaigns across industries. From red-white-and-blue packaging to messaging rooted in national pride, marketers are leaning into “Made in America” themes more than ever. This momentum is driven not just by the upcoming semiquincentennial milestone, but also by ongoing geopolitical and economic pressures — most notably tariffs and supply chain instability — that are pushing brands to emphasize American-made goods….

Teaming Up Live Recap: Pitch and then help national reporters pitch the story 

The Hodges Partnership team is grateful to lead national media relations programs for a variety of clients. Our work is often complex and time-consuming, as we work to think about the best positioning and appropriate outlets to share stories. But the work can lead to big payoffs: Those national stories and headlines lead to greater credibility and a big boost to brand awareness.   This month we invited two national journalists with connections to NPR and ABC News to our new office for an insider’s view…

Episode 39: National Media Voices, with Jason Fuller and Adisa Hargett-Robinson

In our inaugural LIVE recording of Teaming Up, we welcomed a panel of national media experts to share insights from the newsroom. Our Sean Ryan, senior vice president of media relations, served as a moderator and was joined by Jason Fuller (producer) and Adisa Hargett-Robinson (reporter and media producer). Sharing their insights to a packed house, the trio unpacked a day in the life of a national newsroom producer and explored a variety of areas that impacts both sides of the pitch — from challenges…

Helpful Email Marketing Pointers to Keep in Mind

Emails are essentially direct tickets to your audience. You’re landing in their inbox and you’re landing in their phone by way of a notification that begs to be read. Unlike social media content which can get lost in a scroll, email marketing is a direct way to reach your audience that can be hard to ignore. We’ve already talked about why you really should be considering email marketing, but in case you’re not convinced, we wanted to share these four tips as you think about…

Teaming Up Live: A Morning with National Media Voices on June 18

Landing national media coverage is often considered the holy grail of PR – and for good reason. The credibility and reach it offers can elevate a brand’s story in ways few other tactics can. Breaking through to national outlets is no small feat. It takes insight, strategy, relationships and timing. At The Hodges Partnership, we’ve built a reputation for navigating this complex media landscape, and now we’re bringing that expertise to the forefront in a live conversation. Join us on the morning of Wednesday, June…

Leveraging Earned Media During the General Assembly to Strengthen Virginia’s Free and Charitable Clinics 

Across the commonwealth, there are hundreds of thousands of uninsured and underinsured Virginians. Many of these individuals turn to Virginia’s free and charitable clinics for care, which serve as an important safety net resource for working families who can’t afford healthcare or health insurance.   By delivering important preventative and chronic care, the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (VAFCC) helps patients remain healthy, reduce unnecessary visits to the emergency room and avoid missed time from work due to illness. Make no mistake, Virginia’s free…

Episode 38: Building Relationships with Onie Girton, Hilldrup

In our latest episode of Teaming Up, Lindsay O’Bar is joined by Onie Girton, senior vice president of sales and client services at Hilldrup. Hilldrup, and Onie in particular, represents our longest standing client relationship. We’ve been working with her since we onboarded Hilldrup in 2011. Building and nurturing relationships is a critical part to our business, and to the work Onie does at Hilldrup, which involves client retention and sales. A relationship-building role isn’t right for everyone because it’s just as much learned skill…

Sparking a National Movement… Or Observance Like National Home Visiting Week

It’s been nearly two years since we first started working with a client in the home visiting space. From Early Impact Virginia, a statewide alliance helping elevate and support local programs, to The Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing the home visiting profession through career development and resources, these are some of the organizations making important strides to strengthen the young families in our communities. Home visiting is an evidence-based, voluntary service where trained professionals visit pregnant…

Navigating DEIB: Our Continued Commitment 

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a fundamental commitment to ensuring equal opportunities, while others may see it as a corporate trend. Whether you view it as a fundamental right or a performative movement, there’s no arguing its current polarizing nature.  As DEIB continues to dominate headlines, there’s been a surge of conflicting definitions and interpretations, challenging individuals and organizations to reevaluate and redefine what the initiative means to them and its role in the workplace. …

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