Press Box: May/June Edition

The Rundown

Social Media and Mental Health Awareness Month

As we mentioned in our recent article about Gen Z and social media, this generation is active on social media – with 50% of them spending an hour or more a day on platforms. Screen addiction, lack of dopamine and the pressure to engage in cultural conversations (to avoid cancel culture) has led to three times the amount of anxiety as their parents. NBC News has more.

Lessons Learned from Scottie Scheffler and the PGA

There is a lot to unpack if you missed this news, but the morning of the second round of the PGA Championship, a pedestrian was killed by a bus and later, Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer in the world, was arrested. Sports Illustrated has a good recounting of what the PGA can learn but here’s our take: The lack of empathy for a fatality of a vendor, and the conversation surrounding Scheffler’s return sent the wrong message (speaking of message, the formal statement from Scheffler that day could have used more empathy, too).

Eat More Chicken Beef

Miriam Webb had a normal day job, serving customers at Chick-fil-A. During her breaks, she’d take to TikTok where she’d show off concoctions from the restaurant’s menu. Well, people LOVED her content, but you know who didn’t? Her employer. She announced she was leaving Chick-fil-A, and soon she received a DM from Shake Shack. A mere week later, she was posting #sponcon for Shake Shack. Get the full scoop, and see her content here.

Will We See You There?

True to our name and core values, we like to be involved in community organizations to build our network of partners and collaborators, while bettering ourselves as people and professionals in our wonderful city. To make sure we’re not there by ourselves, we are compiling the latest professional and business events around town. Head over to the Gong Blog to read what’s on deck for June.

Creative Homerun

Benchmarking Telehealth Usage in Virginia

As part of ongoing efforts to monitor the impact of telehealth on Virginia’s patients and providers, the Virginia Telehealth Network(VTN) conducts a periodic “Benchmarking Telehealth Usage in Virginia” survey of actively practicing licensed providers across the commonwealth. Our Creative Services team created this snapshot to help visualize the 2024 survey results. View the snapshot here.

Inside Baseball

And the Award Goes To...

Last week, our team got dressed up for the annual “PR Prom,” otherwise known as the Virginia PR Awards. In collaboration with our clients and partners, we took home 10 awards and celebrated our clients and friends – Jason Lee, Taya Jarman and Jill Vaughan – who were recognized for their talents and contributions to our industry.  

That's the Spirit!

The Virginia Spirits Board Marketing Office had a particularly busy month. If the team wasn’t staffing its booth at DC Cocktail Fest, it was gathering social content at a photo shoot at Reservoir Distillery, all while producing two monthly newsletters and continuing plans for the Virginia Cocktail Games and Virginia Spirits Month. Stay up to date by getting on the mailing list here. Meanwhile, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that a recent study found that Virginia distilleries generated close to $276 million in revenue with an economic impact of some $1.1 billion in 2022. A toast to the Spirits Board team! 

Well Earned

Media relations continues to be a big part of our client work. Here’s a rundown of some media placements over the past month:

• A military site burned by the British during the Revolutionary War recently was unearthed at Colonial Williamsburg. Read about it in The Washington Post.  
• Almost one in four Americans volunteer their time with a nonprofit organization. The Richmond Times-Dispatch profiled two of them who work for clinics that are part of the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics.   
• Tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas sent the Mercy Chef team into “tornado alley” to help feed victims and first responders. National coverage included segments on FOX Weather, NBC News NOW and News Nation and several stories in Houston media outlets.

• Style Weekly, CBS-6 and other local outlets covered Richmond Region Tourism’s new beer trail mobile passport.   
• Following a pilot phase, Virginia now has a statewide virtual free mental health clinic. Among the outlets covering the official launch of the Virginia Telemental Health Initiative were Healthcare Innovation, CBS19, WRIC, Henrico Citizen, Daily News-Record and CBS6. We also were behind VTMHI’s new website. Check it out here.

In-Phil

Among the most recent stories featured in The Phil is this piece on three local nonprofit organizations working to protect democracy and voting within the commonwealth. You can receive The Phil in your inbox for free via this link. 

The Bench

Dave Park Productions Services, LLC

If you’ve worked with our team on a video project, there is a good chance you’ve already met our pal Dave Park! He has been a director of photography/videography for over 30 years, and he’s our go-to when it comes to turnkey video production needs. He’s gone with us to shoot student success stories for clients, and he’s even captured video for one of our case studies. Read more about Dave on our Gong Blog.

Photo credit: On Three Photography