Hall’s Mark on Nashville Hits 20 Years

It was 2004. The Nashville Predators were in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time ever. City leaders were starting to talk about building a new convention center south of downtown. Roadwork was underway to transform a fledgling, mostly industrial midtown neighborhood into The Gulch. A 14-year-old girl named Taylor was new to town with dreams of music stardom. And Joe Hall and Abby Trotter were ready to make a move.

Joe and Abby met as partners at The Ingram Group, a small Tennessee-based public affairs firm founded by Tom Ingram, that was home to influential mentors that included Butch Eley, Lewis Lavine and others. 

Joe’s work at The Ingram Group centered largely on local and state public affairs, and he had resisted the call of national politics over the years to maintain that focus. Abby’s portfolio included economic development projects, health care and event management. 

Joe and Abby had both built up rosters of loyal and rewarding clients, and the time seemed right to strike out on their own. “Really, it was a matter of just having the confidence to go ahead and do it,” Joe says now. So, with the encouragement of current and former colleagues, he seized the opportunity.  

The original Hall Strategies office was in the historic Southern Turf building downtown (once a Prohibition-era saloon and speakeasy, now redeveloped into short-term rental lofts). At first, the firm consisted of Joe and one assistant. Four months later, Abby joined him. 

“I never intended for the firm to be a solo effort,” Joe says. “It was always going to involve smart people, which is more fun, more collaborative and more effective. Abby operated in the policy arena, especially in economic development, and that has continued to be a care of almost everything that we do.  We never wanted to be a large firm, but to do great work for our clients and have fun doing it.” 

Joe and Abby formed the core of the new group, but other key colleagues soon followed. One early hire, Judith Byrd, came from the American Cancer Society, which was vital experience for one of the firm’s notable early successes, the Tennessee Non-Smokers Protection Act, which banned smoking in most enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants.  Peter Heidenreich, who works for the firm to this day, brought deep civic and local government experience to the table, having worked more than 25 years in Metro Nashville government. 

The young firm quickly established itself as a go-to partner for important civic and state initiatives: 

• In 2006, Hall Strategies partnered with Mayor Bill Purcell’s office on Celebrate Nashville, a yearlong, citywide celebration of Nashville’s bicentennial that included the inaugural Nashville Hot Chicken Festival in 2007 (which Abby co-founded with Purcell and still spearheads). 
• Joe helped Shelby County preservationists and County Government establish Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, brand the 4,500-acre urban park, and build community support in Memphis to develop greenways. 
• In 2007 and 2008, Joe played a key role in the campaign to keep the NHL’s Nashville Predators in Nashville, when a prospective sale threatened to move the team to Canada. 
• In 2010, the firm began working with the Tennessee Biotechnology Association. It followed with strategic planning and rebranding of the organization to Life Science Tennessee. The role expanded to include association management and a more robust government relations program. It works effectively with other technology-based economic development organizations across the state to generate opportunities for biotech and med-tech companies. 

By 2016, Hall Strategies was ready to take a leap forward as Nashville was emerging as one of the nation’s premier cities. What they were missing was a strong third partner who could especially grow the firm’s public relations practice. Enter Justin Wilson.  

Joe and Justin first got to know each other while working on redevelopment of the old Nashville Convention Center into what is now the Fifth + Broadway complex. Joe was working on public and government relations efforts to get the redevelopment proposal approved by the Metro Council. Justin, who worked for a large PR firm at the time, was handling public relations for the project. The two worked closely together throughout that initiative, and Joe was impressed with Justin’s work.  

Joe and Abby approached Justin at an opportune time, as Justin was intrigued by the opportunities he saw at Hall. “I was attracted to going back to a more entrepreneurial boutique firm that was very effective and having the opportunity to see something grow. 

“Joe and Abby said they were looking for the right ‘third leg of the stool,’ and I think I slotted in there well,” Justin says. “Joe does a lot of great government relations work. He’s well-connected and highly respected. Abby is extremely well-connected in various industries, and she’s so good at association and event-related work. And then I came from a pure public relations and media relations background. Those three strengths are a powerful combination.” 

With that approach, Hall Strategies built a growing roster of public relations clients that today includes Dell, California Closets, TC Restaurant Group, Centennial Park Conservancy and many more. Hall was ideally positioned for Nashville’s growth and development boom, becoming the go-to firm to help investors gain entitlements, ongoing permitting and to market properties for key audiences.  

Development, construction and promotion of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences perfectly illustrates Justin’s point. Hall Strategies started working with Four Seasons in the earliest planning stages, smoothing the way with neighbors, city and stakeholders to get the project approved.  

“We did the government relations. We did the groundbreaking. We were retained to promote the for-sale residences, and Four Seasons sold all of them before the building opened. And then we were awarded the assignment to conduct national and local media and conducts special events for Four Seasons Hotel Nashville as it opened, an evolutionary project that elevated Nashville’s profile for luxury hospitality.” 

That project is emblematic of Hall Strategies’ multi-disciplinary approach and reputation. “At any phase of the process, they could have chosen anybody. They chose us, and they kept choosing us,” Wilson says. “I think that says a lot about how our different capabilities fit together and are a great solution for clients no matter what their needs are.” 

Today, Hall Strategies has an incredibly diversified client roster that ranges across health care, biotech, the humanities and nonprofits, cultural attractions, professional services, corporations, and developers, builders and engineering firms. In 2023, Hall registered as the sixth-largest public relations firm in Nashville by the Nashville Business Journal. 

As the firm’s principals look back on its first 20 years, they all take deep pride in its 2004 founding and in the thriving and still-evolving organization it is today. Just as gratifying is the company’s ongoing commitment to philanthropy and volunteer service, which has involved every person in the firm over the past two decades. Nashville is a bountiful place to be in business, and every employee of Hall Strategies believes passionately in being good to the home that’s been so good to us.