December 2024

The Rundown

The latest industry trends and news that have Hodgers talking.

Sliding Out of the Bottom

Heads up to our industry friends: Hodges has moved! We have operated out of our Shockoe Bottom home for 19 years, but as our agency has continued to grow – which was exponentially the case during the pandemic – it became abundantly clear it was time to move. 

Why it Matters

If you’re looking for us at our old digs in Shockoe Bottom, we won’t be there! Instead, find us at our new home in Scott's Addition, partaking in all the neighborhood has to offer. You'll likely run into us grabbing a brew at our neighbor, Väsen, or across the street chomping on a taco from Cochiloco.  

We’re looking forward to hosting you in our beautiful new digs, so if you're hanging around the neighborhood, pop over and we'll show you around. 

Here's What You Should Know

• Drop a pin. As of Dec. 1, 2024, our new physical address will be: 3301 W. Moore Street, Richmond, VA 23230.
• Let accounting know. Our mail will be received at our physical address of 3301 W. Moore Street, Richmond, VA 23230. Checks can continue to be mailed to P.O. Box 799, Gloucester, VA 23601. 
• Thanks for your patience! We tapped Hilldrup to manage the move, and our team has been preparing for this day all year (literally). We have effectively moved, but given that we're moving 22 staffers and 22 years of memories (aka stuff), there's a good chance some things may have fallen through the proverbial cracks along the way.

Creative Home Run

Highlighting a recent project from our Creative Services team.

We'd be remiss if we didn't talk about our new gorgeous space. There are still some elements that are going to be added over the next couple of months, and we don't want to give away our new branding look and feel quite yet, but our Creative Services team, with the help of our admin and operations teams, led the beautification of the new space by working with Campfire & Co. (more on them below). 

Inside Baseball

Our latest work and happenings.

For Hall of Fame Consideration 

So many nominations for this year. Fresh in our minds, the move wouldn't have happened without the leadership of Paulyn Ocampo and the team she managed along the way. We also have the fearless Mercy Chefs team (Sean Ryan, Meg Irvin, APR, Hannah Robinson) who delivered hit after hit this year as our client deployed to locations across the U.S. And let's not forget about our Virginia Spirits Board Marketing Office team (Jack Gorman, Amanda Christian, Adrienne Band, Madelyn Balser, Julia Loudy, Erin Bagnell) whose work swept a variety of categories during the annual Virginia PR Awards. Plus the countless Plays of the Week we've shared throughout the year across all of our amazing account teams. We can't pick.   

PR in and Out of the Office 

Our team does so much to support our clients, but they also do a lot to support RVA and its many professional organizations. Next time you see one of us out in the community, be sure to say hello!

• Lindsay serves on the board of RMHC Richmond and is active with Moms Demand Action RVA. 
• Greg just became the PRSA Richmond president for the upcoming season.
• Hannah and Michaela have held board and committee positions with PRSA Richmond this year. 
• Jack and Amanda Co. currently serve on AMA Richmond's board of directors. 
• Cameron served as the marketing chair for Virginia Pridefest, and he's also active with The Richmond Public Relations Foundation. 
• Meg also serves with The Richmond Public Relations Foundation, and she also is on the CelebrateRVA board. 
• Sean has led the Benedictine varsity baseball team for as long as we can remember! 
• Josh sits on the board for the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg.
• Paulyn is part of this year's cohort of Leadership Metro Richmond.
• Amanda Ch. serves content at work and volleys with Richmond Volleyball Club as a player and coach. 

Making Magic Happen in the Off Season 

This year, we tasked two teams within the agency to help refresh the Hodges brand in tandem with the move. Aidan Newbold, Jada Carpenter, Lindsay O'Bar, APR, Paulyn Ocampo, Casey Prentice, Amanda Colocho and Adrienne Band conducted a series of exercises to help find what’s working, what needs improvement and what could be proposed for the next iteration of the Hodges identity. More to come here. 

In a Class All Their Own 

This year, we added a new rank to our midst: SVP. This new cohort includes senior leaders, Sean Ryan, Lindsay O'Bar, APR, Greg Surber, APR and Paulyn Ocampo. 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work 

Or in this case, the podcast work. Teaming Up celebrated its fourth season this year, which made the shift from intraoffice interviews to interoffice interviews, pairing a Hodger with an industry partner outside of our walls. Hannah Robinson, Jon Newman, Anna Friesen, Paulyn Ocampo, Michaela Mishoe, Casey Prentice, Amanda Christian, Greg Surber, APR, Sean Ryan, Alejandro Leon and Josh Dare helped to hit this season out of the park. 

The Gong Blog

Our strategic communications, media relations, public relations and social media experts share their knowledge.

• The Phil Turns 'Phour': Reflections on Our Toddler: Cue the music: happy birthday to us. Last week, we blew out our four candles on The Phil's b-day cake, marking an anniversary with many slices of gratitude to go around. Read more.
• Addition by Subtraction: Musings on Our Move: Josh reflects on our past move experiences and our intertwined history with Richmond baseball as we prepare to place new roots in Scott's Addition. Read more.

Head over to the #GongBlogTHP to read our latest posts.

Teaming Up

The podcast where we invite friends to engage with us in conversation on a specific topic in the PR, communications and marketing industry.

Episode 34: Next Steps with Jon and Josh

For our final episode of the year, we're going back to the podcast roots with 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. Read the show notes on our blog and be sure to subscribe to Teaming Up to get notified when it's released.

The Bench

The partners we love to collaborate with.

Campfire & Co.

Campfire & Co. is a woman-owned creative agency designing unforgettable experiences in digital and physical spaces. Uniting branding and interior design, they help clients create immersive brands that establish authentic connections, build loyalty and outlast the competition. We're so excited to have worked with Campfire on our own journey this year, and we’d recommend them to anyone looking for a brand or interior partner.