My career in Public Relations started in the early 1980s, in the days before the internet, mobile phones and social media, so I have a lot of historical context to apply to the work I undertake now.
During that time I have worked in house for a number of national bodies in the Third and Public sectors, leading teams to build and maintain their reputation. In 2008 I set up Douglas Brown PR to share more widely the skills and knowledge I had acquired.
At the same time I started teaching part time at the University of Lincoln on its Public Relations and Communications degree course. I continued with this until 2021 when I gave up my post as Senior Lecturer in Public Relations to refocus on my business.
Throughout my career I have had a close and active involvement in voluntary work, indeed, my career started as a volunteer with a County Wildlife Trust. For eighteen years I was an active volunteer in the Army Cadet Force, serving as commanding officer for the national PR Training Team and I have volunteered as a trustee and committee member on a number of other voluntary bodies over the years.
I take my professional development very seriously and am a member of The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and aim to keep my skills and knowledge as current as possible.
A story about me.
In 2007 my wife and I, as seasoned African travellers, went on a rough camping trip into the Kalahari in Botswana, accompanied only by a local guide. Deep into the game reserve the three of us camped out. In the early hours of the morning I got up and left the tent to “attend to nature”.
I got more nature than I had expected however, for, as I spent my penny, I noticed, padding silently out of the darkness, less than ten metres away, a fully grown male Lion.
Well, he looked at me, and I looked at him – each deciding what to do. In that crucial moment I remembered what I had been taught on a game ranger course some years before.
Slowly, slowly and as calmly as I could, I backed away back to the tent, maintaining eye contact all the time whilst fixing him with my torch.
In a few moments I was safe in the tent and he was back on his way to a waterhole some distance off.
The relevance of this tale?
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I’m here because I remembered, valued and followed the advice of professionals – “Never run from a big cat, look them in the eye and back away calmly. Once you are in a tent they only see a big object, not you in it.”
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I’m here because I looked beyond the immediate. As we stared at each other I instinctively knew he was as surprised as I by our encounter and if we respected each other no harm would come to either of us.
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I’m here because doing the right thing is just as important as telling the story.
My values
Fairness - Loyalty - Generosity - Humility
Douglas Brown PR
Taking pride in giving third sector and public bodies a voice.
Douglas Brown MPRCA AFHEA
