Belief Is Still a Human Job
HCP Associates turns 40 this year. We’ve been in business longer than the internet, longer than PowerPoint, and longer than most of the platforms our clients now swear they can’t live without. Over four decades, we’ve lived through oil spills, recessions, 9/11, housing crashes, COVID, supply-chain chaos, social media revolutions, and now the age of…
The Most Dangerous Cut: Cutting Marketing Won’t Stop the Bleeding
It’s a new year. You had a rough fourth quarter. Sales dipped. A big client walked. Something went wrong, maybe a few things did. Now you’re in panic mode. Spreadsheets are open. Forecasts are being revised. Conversations get quieter. And somewhere in the room, someone says the words that feel responsible in the moment, we…
Remembering Andy Warhol: The Man Who Made Art a Mirror of Modern Life
By Eric Polins, HCP Associates Today would have been Andy Warhol’s 97th birthday. It’s hard to overstate the impact he had—not just on art, but on everything around it: advertising, celebrity, media, branding, and even how we process reality itself. Warhol didn’t just blur the lines between art and commerce—he erased them. He showed the…
Navigating the Media Shift: Journalism, PR, and The Age of Digital Overload
The media and public relations landscape has transformed dramatically over the past few decades. What started as a gradual shift with the rise of the internet has accelerated into a full-scale evolution driven by digital platforms, social media, and the emergence of AI. Traditional newsrooms have contracted, and print newspapers—once the backbone of local and…
What Porsche, The Autobahn, and a Business Card Taught Me About Sales vs. Marketing
As a longtime creative and technical writer with over 25 years in advertising, marketing, branding, and filmmaking, I still get a little heartburn when someone hands me a business card that reads “VP of Sales & Marketing.” It’s not that I don’t respect both disciplines—quite the opposite. But sales and marketing are not the same…
Your Brand Deserves Better Than a ‘Set It and Forget It’ Bot
Lately, we’ve been seeing a surge of AI tools promising to handle social media with a ‘set it and forget it’ approach. The promise? Just upload the brand voice, feed in a style guide, answer a few dozen questions, and let the system run on autopilot. Set it and forget it. Then, to “bring it…
Why Lifestyle Businesses Might Not Equal Big Revenue
Not all businesses are built to scale—and that’s okay, but it comes with trade-offs. Lifestyle businesses are often designed to support the founder’s personal life and passions—like consulting, boutique shops, or coaching. Even careers like day trading can be considered lifestyle businesses. Many small businesses, especially family-owned ones, may have stayed roughly the same size…
Can AI Create What It Can’t Imagine?
In the late ’90s, I was standing in front of a whiteboard at one of my first ad agencies, sketching out a launch campaign for a scrappy tech startup — rough printouts taped up, ideas flying, pacing the floor with designers, developers, and writers trying to shape a message that meant something. No AI. No…
Harnessing the Power of Research, Planning and Consulting: HCP Associates’ Impact on Florida Tourism
At HCP Associates, we’ve built our reputation by delivering tailored solutions that drive tourism growth, enhance organizational efficiency, and create compelling positioning and programming. Over the years, we’ve partnered with some of Florida’s most prominent tourism organizations to ensure they stand out in a competitive market. Here’s a glimpse into the transformative work we’ve done…
Beyond the Census: Tailoring Data to Transform Communities
To better understand their constituents, counties, cities, and special districts such as Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs), Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), and Special Services Districts (SSDs) are recognizing the growing importance of precise, localized data to steer their development and policy decisions. Why Census Data Alone Is Not Enough The census, while indispensable for providing a…