The Hoffman Agency is a global marketing and public relations agency headquartered in San Jose, CA that specializes in business-to-business technology. Its services include earned media, content marketing, social media, earned search, crisis communications, corporate communications, trainings, branding and design and employee branding and communications.
The firm has North American offices in San Jose, California; Portland, Oregon; and Boston, Massachusetts. Its Asia-Pacific offices are in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, and it has European offices in the UK, Germany and France. The Hoffman Agency has 270 employees globally, with 70 based in North America.
History The Hoffman Agency was founded in the U.S. in December 1987 by Lou Hoffman to provide communications services to technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard.
In 1993 the firm won the Silver Anvil Award for its work launching HP's miniature disk drive, Kittyhawk. In 1994 The Hoffman Agency initiated its first global campaign in launching Hyundai's (now known as Hynix) MPEG-2 chip in Europe and Asia Pacific.The Hoffman Agency Milestones ."
The firm has been operating in Asia for over 20 years, beginning with the opening of its Singapore office in 1996. The company opened additional offices in Asia between 1996 and 2000, including those in Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
In 2000, the opening of the company's Beijing office made The Hoffman Agency the first Silicon Valley technology PR firm to enter mainland China.Aimee Grove, ANALYSIS: Profile - Hoffman: breaking the boundaries for PR. Don't let his near-empty appointment book fool you - Lou Hoffman is busy breaking PR boundaries." October 16, 2000.Inc. Staff This Is How It's Done: 30 Smart Business Moves ." April 1, 2009.Innocents Abroad ." June 1, 2006.
The Hoffman Agency expanded to Europe in 2001 with the opening of an office in London.Advancing PR: It Takes Two to Dance ." June 16, 2009.
Asia expansion continued with an office opening in Korea in 2001. In 2010 the company started an office in Shanghai, and in 2017 and 2018 opened additional offices in Jakarta and Taiwan.
The company has received more than 310 industry awards, including being selected by The Holmes Report as Tech Agency of the Year Finalist in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in the U.S., and Technology Consultancy of the Year in Asia in 2018. It was also named PRovoke SABRE Awards' Asia-Pacific Tech Agency of the year in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and PRovoke's Global Technology PR Agency of the year in 2023. In 2025, The Hoffman Agency was recognized as one of PRWeek's Best Places to Work for midsize agencies.
In April 2019, the agency formed an exclusive partnership with global communications firm Hotwire. Under the agreement, Hotwire collaborated with Hoffman's offices in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Indonesia to provide public relations services to clients.
The Hoffman Agency launched its Techplomacy practice to provide tech-specific public affairs consulting for Asia-Pacific in October 2022. Also in 2022, The Hoffman Agency acquired Munich-based public relations firm Eloquenza, which specializes in designing communication strategies for B2B technology companies such as Workday and Confluent. As part of the merger, The Hoffman Agency founded the new The Hoffman Agency GmbH, bringing its total employees in Europe to 20.
In 2023, The Hoffman Agency announced its inaugural annual scholarship, offering one California Community College student two years of full tuition and fees for studying communications at a historically Black college or university (HBCU). Also in 2023, The Hoffman Agency named Dominique Rose Van-Winther as managing director for Asia Pacific, succeeding Caroline Hsu who transitioned to the role of chief global officer.
In 2024, The Hoffman Agency promoted Gerard LaFond to managing director of North America, succeeding Lou Hoffman, who remains at The Hoffman Agency as CEO. Additionally, The Hoffman Agency appointed Jenny Fieldgate as managing director of Europe in 2024. Fieldgate succeeds Mark Pinsent, who continues to be a senior consultant with the company.
In 2025, The Hoffman Agency acquired CCGroup, a PR-led tech marketing firm in London. CCGroup’s senior leaders, Richard Fogg and Paul Nolan, assumed the roles of co-managing directors reporting to Fieldgate.
In Southeast Asia, the agency operates under a #OneSEA model, launched to integrate teams across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Notable campaigns Alcatel-Lucent
Bell Labs is the research and development subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1925.Mike Vago, A.V. Club. "Drop some science with groundbreaking research institute Bell Labs ." May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. The Hoffman Agency created a campaign around the Big Bang Bash,Tanya Lewis, PR Week. "Bell Labs celebrates Big Bang anniversary with innovation campaign ." July 24, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. an event honoring the 50th anniversary of the researchMike Wall, NBC News. "Bell Labs Celebrates Big Bang Discovery at 50th-Anniversary Bash ." May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. providing the first tangible evidence of "cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation" — proving the Big Bang.Mike Wall, Space.com. "Cosmic Anniversary: 'Big Bang Echo' Discovered 50 Years Ago Today ." May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. The event was hosted by Bell Labs, whose researchers played an important role in confirming the scientific theory.pbs.org. "Penzias and Wilson discover cosmic microwave radiation 1965 ." Retrieved May 11, 2015. The campaign resulted in over 220 million online impressions and was covered in publications such as the Huffington Post,David Freeman, Huffington Post. "This Famous Astronomer Was Looking For 'Zero' But Wound Up Proving The Big Bang Theory ." June 16, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. NPRGeoff Brumfiel, NPR. "Big Bang's Ripples: Two Scientists Recall Their Big Discovery ." May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. and Scientific American.Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American. "Smart Luck: How the Big Bang Was Found by Accident [Slide Show]." May 30, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2015. As a result, The Hoffman Agency won the 2014 Holmes Report In2 SABRE Award in the Most Innovative Print and Digital Media category for this campaign.The Holmes Report. "2015 In2 SABRE Awards — The Shortlist ." January 11, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
City of Fremont
Since 2012, The Hoffman Agency has helped The City of Fremont, CA advance its economic development efforts and brand image.Wes Bowers, San Jose Mercury News. "Fremont hires PR firm to lift image for $195,000 ." October 4, 2012. May 19, 2015. The Hoffman Agency won a 2014 In2 SABRE AwardTom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher. "Holmes Report's Innovation Summit Recognizes Innovators In PR And Media ." January 30, 2014. May 19, 2015. for its work with the City after launching the Think Silicon Valley websiteThink Silicon Valley. "Advancing Business in Silicon Valley ." May 19, 2015. as the anchor to its overall communications campaign.PR Daily. "Hitching website wagon to tech capital puts Fremont on the map ." May 19, 2015. The website has helped the City build relationships with local businesses and media, and established itself as a hub for advanced manufacturing, clean tech and life sciences. In addition, The Hoffman Agency has helped extend the City's reach beyond local press through media coverage in The Associated Press,Martha Mendoza, AP. "Silicon Valley-area hub becomes factory town ." May 18, 2013. May 19, 2015. The Washington Post,Howard Schneider, The Washington Post. "When a factory leaves town: in the shadow of Silicon Valley, a city reels from job losses ." August 22, 2014. May 19, 2015. BloombergDan Levy, Bloomberg Business. "Lennar Said to Reach California Land Deal for 3,000 Homes ." May 31, 2014. May 19, 2015. and CNET.Richard Nieva, CNET. "Small-city mayors: Build your tech hardware in the US ." October 2, 2014. May 19, 2015. As a result, The Hoffman Agency was shortlisted as a finalist in the 2015 SABRE Awards North America for its continued work with Fremont.The Holmes Report. "2015 SABRE Awards North America finalists ." May 19, 2015.
The Hoffman Agency also assisted the Fremont Police Department, announcing its custom Tesla Model S police patrol vehicle in January 2019. This resulted in 116 original and syndicated articles across various outlets including Mashable, Digital Trends, Quartz and Fox Business. The Hoffman Agency won a 2019 PRNEWS Award for this 24-hour campaign.
Invisalign Singapore
In 2020, Invisalign Singapore — a subsidiary of Align Technology — wanted to educate patients on clear aligner treatments as a medical procedure. Leveraging a study on the “Zoom Phenomenon,” which found 41% of individuals were more insecure of their smiles due to increased video calls stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns, The Hoffman Agency and Invisalign built a campaign consisting of additional studies and media events. This resulted in coverage in publications like Lianhe Zaobao, The Singapore Women's Weekly, August Man, Dental Asia, The Asian Parent and Men's Folio. The campaign won a 2022 PRCA APAC Award for health and wellbeing.
Lightship
In March 2023, America’s first all-electric recreational vehicle (RV) company, Lightship, launched its flagship battery-powered travel trailer: the Lightship L1. The Hoffman Agency conducted a launch campaign that resulted in media coverage in TechCrunch, The Verge, and Inside EVs. The campaign won a Platinum MarCom Award for Strategic Communications of a Product/Service Launch and a Platinum dotCOMM Award for Earned Media Article or News Placement.
Nautilus
Global fitness products company Nautilus, Inc. aimed to drive sales and bolster the company's brand as a home fitness innovator for the debut of the Bowflex Max Trainer cardio machine.John Gradits, Seeking Alpha. "Nautilus: New Products, Efficiency And Poised For Growth ." February 14, 2015. June 3, 2015. The Hoffman Agency created a launch campaign, which resulted in media coverage from publications including TechCrunch,Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch. "Bowflex Max Trainer M5 Review: Connected, Intense Exercise In A Relatively Compact Package ." October 4, 2014. June 3, 2015. LA Times,Roy Wallack, Los Angeles Times. "New machines aim to be a runner's hurt blocker ." July 11, 2014. June 3, 2015. Men's FitnessMark Barroso, Men's Fitness. "Nautilus Launches New Fitness Products ." June 3, 2015. and USA Today.Jennifer Jolly, USA Today. "TECH NOW: Turn exercise into a game; sip smart with Vessyl ." June 28, 2014. June 3, 2015. As a result, the agency submitted the product for recognition and gained two international design awards.idesignawards. " ." June 3, 2015.Physical Therapy Products. "Nautilus Receives Red Dot Design Award for Bowflex Max Trainer ." March 31, 2015. June 3, 2015. To add to the Bowflex brand momentum, Hoffman created and launched the Bowflex Insider blog, which was named the best fitness blog by USAHomeGymUSA Home Gym. "Top 10 Fitness Company Blogs 2015 ." June 3, 2015. and won an award from the Holmes Report as an innovative home media property.The Holmes Report. "2014 In2 SABRE Awards - The Shortlist ." December 19, 2013. June 3, 2015.
Nokia