The
Douglas Communications Group is a full
service public relations firm, based in southeast Michigan.
We help a diverse
group of private- and public-sector clients communicate
with their customers, prospects and employees.
We have two
specialties:
-
Trade,
business and professional associations
-
Economic,
community and real estate development
The common
denominator for such clients is that they often are operating in a consensus-driven
environment. What do we mean by that?
Think
for a minute about a small business –a jewelry store, a printer, a
bank. They can all choose to specialize; in fact, to exclude part of
their prospective client base. The jewelry store may choose only to
sell precious gems, the printer print only in color, the bank only offer
home loans.
Consensus-driven organizations are governed by a board of directors or
an elected council or commission. They may be a city, governmental
agency, trade or professional association, chamber of commerce,
membership organization or community group. They typically have a large
and varied constituency, and they must serve everyone.
This
creates many communications challenges. Subgroups have conflicting
needs, requiring compromise. Education and technology-adeptness levels
vary. Leaders may not fully understand the extent of a problem or
opportunity. Messages have to be delivered and repeated at many levels.
Financial resources often are limited just by the very nature of the
organization.
The
Douglas Communications Group’s experience and skill meeting the needs of such
organizations comes from the background of its president, Sharlan
Douglas. As founding executive director of the Eight Mile Boulevard
Association, she forged an alliance between the public and private
sectors to revitalize and promote a thoroughfare that had been the
physical and spiritual dividing line between Detroit and its suburbs for
a generation. As a chamber of commerce executive, she created a
21st-century array of communications products that re-engaged members
while increasing the organization’s revenue.
While
our specialty is complex, layered organizations, we also provide
services to individual businesses, scaling our perspective and resources
to their specific needs. You’ll see several examples on our
list of
clients.
