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In our latest episode of Teaming Up, Erin Bagnell teams up with freelance travel journalist Lydia Mansel to discuss tourism communications. The duo talks through Lydia’s journey from full time work to freelance writing and how the industry has changed within that time. They also discuss the ins and outs of navigating the industry from all sides. Episode Highlights: Transitioning from full time to freelance Trends in destination and travel marketing Building relationships with professionals throughout the industry Impact of media landscape and AI Related Links: Lydia Mansel Just Packed Newsletter

In this bonus episode, we’ve talked to the new leadership team at Hodges about our recent transition announcement. You’ll hear from Jon Newman, Paulyn Ocampo, Lindsay O’Bar, Greg Surber, Sean Ryan and Josh Dare about what this means to them, what their goals are for the future of the agency and you’ll learn exactly what Josh has planned for his upcoming retirement.   Related Links A different Hodges…the ownership. Hodges’ Instagram with Announcement Content

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

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 in media today, to navigating things like AI and misinformation. Episode Highlights Daily routines of national newsroom Challenges facing reporters and producers in today’s media landscape Pitching advice Navigating a world of mis- and disinformation The impact of digital advertising and AI on journalism Related Links Jason Fuller on LinkedIn Adisa Hargett-Robinson on LinkedIn

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 and intuition, but these ladies are sharing their smarts with concrete takeaways for anyone to use.   Episode Highlights Building trust is a key ingredient to relationship building. It’s not just about big stuff, but lots of small stuff can have a big impact within relationships. They’ll give tangible tips and best practices to build lasting relationships. Related Links Hilldrup How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie

In our latest episode of Teaming Up, Paulyn Ocampo is joined by Ashley Brooks, of council at Roth Jackson. The duo focus on the legalities and guardrails we should consider as we navigate the integration of tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and Claude in our industry. These large-language models are being trained on billions of pieces of data, but is what about the ethics? Was copyrighted material part of the training set? Is the content actually original? What are the red flags we need to know about? This episode unpacks it all.   Episode Highlights Ownership of content Training AI tools with copyrighted data Navigating bias and misinformation  Related Links Roth Jackson ChatGPT Copyright Office Publishes Part 2 of it AI and Copyright Report

In our latest episode of Teaming Up, Adrienne Maxwell teams up with Addison Clark’s Anne-Stuart Teter to explore all things search engine optimization. Addison Clark has been behind Hodges’ SEO for several years, while also supporting clients like Virginia Spirits in its optimization efforts. SEO goes well beyond identifying the right keywords to have on your pages: there are both content and technical implications that have to constantly be monitored and adjusted to keep your business ranked where you want it.  Episode Highlights  The importance of metadata, content quality and website functionality in SEO rankings  Why organizations need to factor in constant analytics reviews and measurement discussions  How AI Overviews are impacting Google search results  Related Links  Addison Clark

As you can see, Hodges has been busy getting our new brand up and running, so we were a little bit behind launching the newest season of Teaming Up – but we’re back! In this episode, Diana McMahon, vice president of InUnison, joins Meg Irvin, APR in conversation about all things local (and in our case, all things Richmond). The pair talked about InUnison’s mission to support locally owned, independent businesses in central Virginia, while also breaking down some of the benefits and advantages of getting involved have on not only individual businesses, but the entire business community as a whole. Episode Highlights ·       Exploring InUnison’s role in the Richmond community ·       Participating in research to help generate insights that benefit a collective ·       The importance of shopping and supporting local   Related Links ·       InUnison ·       Find Local Directory ·       Learning Lab and other InUnison Resources ·       Recycled Yarn

For our final episode of the year, we’re going back to the podcast roots by pairing up two Hodgers in conversation. It only seemed appropriate to close out our latest season with a conversation with our founders to talk about all the Hodges’ happenings our team has been going through this year. In this episode, you’ll get the TL;DR version of the journey we’ve taken as an agency over the last 12 months, and you’ll get a sneak peek at what’s to come in 2025. Episode Highlights Reflection on our brand and space origins Catalyst for the move What’s on deck We are thrilled at the next step in Hodges’ evolution. You’ll hear it echoed in the episode, but update your address books to 3301 W. Moore Street, Richmond, VA 23230 and we look forward to seeing you in our new space in the new year. Related Links Campfire & Co Hilldrup

In this episode, Alejandro Leon and Adriana Velasquez discuss the nuances of Hispanic communications in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Adriana, born in Lima, Peru, and Alejandro, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida with roots in Colombia, share their experiences with bilingualism, cultural differences and how that all ties into marketing and communication. Episode Highlights Bilingualism and Spanglish Nuances with translations and origins of audience Matching the tactic to the audience This is a great episode for any communicator or marketer that simply translated some copy into Spanish and called it a day. Related Links Growth “Relying on Spanish alone does not ensure your brand is making an impact” - Adweek “Campaign takes aim at brands for ‘Latino coating’” - Axios

In this exciting episode of Teaming Up, Sean Ryan connects with Ryan Nobles, who shares his journey through the world of journalism — detailing his career from local news in Utica, NY, to covering major political events for CNN and NBC. He reflects on the evolution of political reporting, the challenges posed by misinformation and the importance of building relationships in journalism. Nobles also recounts memorable interviews and experiences that shaped his career, emphasizing the significance of ambition and adaptability in the fast-paced media landscape. Episode Highlights How 9/11 helped to shape Nobles’ beat The depth and breadth of political events Nobles’ has covered The importance of relationship building in journalism The role local news plays in the field of journalism Related Links Politico’s 2011 Roundup of Political Bloggers, featuring Nobles, DecisionVirginia and WWBT Ryan Nobles on X Ryan Nobles on Instagram Ryan Nobles' NBC News reporting

In this episode of Teaming Up, Greg Surber, APR, is joined by Amy Baril to talk about their respective professional development organizations, how the two organizations collaborate in Richmond and the importance these organizations play in the personal and professional development of its members. Surber is the incoming president of PRSA Richmond and Baril is the current president of AMA Richmond. Episode Highlights Overview of Richmond’s top professional development organizations for marketing and public relations Compare and contrast between AMA Richmond and PRSA Richmond How the organizations prepare individuals for an evolving workforce Benefits of board engagement beyond general membership This is a longer episode, but it was too good to cut. The conversation weaves between the two organizations and hits on everything from artificial intelligence to mental health and advice for new members – regardless of which organization is a better fit for you. ** ** Related Links PRSA Richmond Chapter AMA Richmond Chapter

In this special bonus episode, we’ve compiled some of the soundbites from our interview sessions with the kids of Hodgers during our inaugural Bring Your Kid to Work Day. You’ll hear from kiddos between the ages of 2 and 16 talking about their favorite things and taking guesses about what exactly it is their parents do.   Episode Highlights You’ll find out Ben Ryan’s favorite snack Harper Ryan’s dream super power will melt your heart Owen Surber wins the prize for most accurate guess of what Dad does We’ll learn Penny Ocampo and Eva Surber’s favorite weekend activities Nora O’Bar confesses whose cheeks she wants to squeeze Henry Prentice draws parallels to soccer interviews  Is it our most polished episode? No, but what do you expect with the median age of our guests is 6.5?

In this episode of Teaming Up, Amanda Christian is joined by Megan Wilson, creative director of Sweet Talk Strategy, to talk about the evolution of email marketing and why it’s a critical channel for communicators. The episode highlights the affordability of email marketing and positions it as a safer channel for marketing compared to social media (both in trust and reachability).   Episode Highlights The evolution and business of email marketing Work smarter, not harder by leveraging automated workflows Email marketing can be as simple or as complicated; cost-effective or expensive as you want it to be Tips for writing engaging headlines and body copy Wilson has 15 years of experience in marketing, which includes social media, email marketing, fundraising, public relations, influencer management, web development and more. She even details how some of her own business and experience has intersected with Hodges in the past.   Related Links Sweet Talk Strategy Facebook Megan Wilson LinkedIn Mailchimp

In this episode of Teaming Up, Casey Prentice sits down with Brian Forrester, CEO and co-founder of Workshop Digital, to explore the evolving landscape of digital marketing and its connection to public relations. The episode highlights the importance of integrating brand storytelling, strategic execution and data analysis to create successful digital marketing campaigns that resonate with target audiences and drive measurable result. Episode Highlights: What is digital marketing, and how does that vary based on your organization? How do you balance brand language with digital language (or how do you balance your brand voice with how people are searching for you online)? How does analytics shape our digital marketing strategies? Forrester will also close the episode with a couple of key takeaways for both budding digital marketers and clients looking to learn more about digital marketing. Related Links · Workshop Digital · Google Analytics certification