Black History Maker: Brittni “Bee” Brown

With a roster of clients like Detroit vs Everybody and The Lip Bar, it’s not hard to understand why Bee Brown is on our list of Black History Makers. For a decade she’s been serving Metro Detroit’s millennials and supporting the community we love most.

Q. In your own words, what does it mean to be a black history maker?

A: I think  being a Black History Maker is solely about changing the formation of what has been seen as traditional. And that goes to another level of breaking glass ceilings and dismantling industries, especially in the communications field. We know our industry is primarily a white-male dominated industry, especially at larger firms. They get a lot of recognition and things of that nature and I think within the past decade or so the trajectory and that the identity of what a “successful communications professional” is has changed. 

Now-a-days it could be seen as a Black woman, the Black millennial woman or a Black male. Being a Black History Maker in communications is about pushing the envelope and changing what has been deemed as traditional even with trends and landscapes of the industry right now.

Q.  Do you have any affiliation with NBPRS? Are you a member? Have you ever held a leadership position?

A: I have been a member of NBPRS Detroit and I will be renewing my membership this year. I held a leadership position when I first joined under the leadership of Monica Ashley when she was president. I started as the communications director which taught me a lot about how to systematically organize and disseminate information at a rapid pace.

Q. Tell me about the first time you worked on your dream project or client.

A: I actually am already living out one of my dreams. I created a scholarship to help students get closer to their dreams. The Brittni Brown Scholarship is a scholarship for Black students studying Public Relations and or Journalism at Eastern Michigan University. I feel like this scholarship is very important because [1] we want to get more Black faces and Black professionals to enter the industry because we know that our expertise and our knowledge tapping into Black culture and dealing with trends. I wanted to be able to give just a push in someone’s undergraduate career and be a resource post-grad. I know how it is as a college student;  I just need some extra money to help push me along. So I wanted to really create the opportunity for more professionals to get in the field as well as equipping them with an internship and mentorship opportunity to handle clients and work with our agency.  The Bee Agency will introduce them and keep them connected with different professionals in the Journalism field and the Public Relations field helping ease the transition from student to professional.

Q. Tell me about your career in communications. Where did you start? Where are you today?

A: My communications career started in college. I was heavily involved on campus and I was introduced to PR by volunteering and being a founding member of the EMU Fashion Week. I had to pitch media to bring brand awareness to an event that we were hoping to get on the news and that turned to me understanding what public relations was and where I fell in love with it.  I’ve always been a talker and I love telling people about things that they should know, bringing awareness as well as merger impact. 

I founded my agency in 2011, while in college and started researching the profession more. I interned with a Detroit based PR agency and after I hit the ground running with my first client, Detroit vs. Everybody. I developed brand messaging, and the social footprint creating the brand as a movement – outside of it being seen just as a product. We accomplished this through campaign creation, messaging and social media content. 

Today, The Bee Agency has grown as a boutique PR agency operating and serving clients and brands worldwide. We’ve been named as a top PR firm in Detroit by Expertise for a consecutive 3 years. We have a team of 4 Publicists and 2 Event Managers. A millennial founded brand, we have served as the human voice behind innovative and socially responsible brands for a decade. 

Q. What advice do you have for students and aspiring communications professionals?

A:So the advice that I would give for anyone that is looking to make an impact is to figure out what void that needs to be filled under your expertise. And if you think that “well, that makes sense for me to do this” or you want to go a specific route, don’t let anyone tell you that it doesn’t sound right or that it’s crazy. You are the future of the profession so your seniors may not understand why certain things are important. 

Impact is not defined by how other people look at impact. Impact is defined by how you want to make your own impact. And remember Detroit is an automotive, medical driven city and I chose to focus on lifestyle brands. It was totally out of the norm when I started, but I knew that’s where I could make an impact in the industry. That was the void that I wanted to fill. 

So do whatever you feel looks like impact for you and just keep your tunnel vision and don’t pay attention to imposter syndrome or compare yourself to anybody that’s doing anything in your field. Don’t look at them as competition. That’s just somebody who’s doing the same thing that you’re doing, you just do it two different ways.

Q. How do you plan to continue to make history and strides in the industry as a whole?

A: I plan to continue to make space for people of color in the industry by always serving as a mentor in any capacity as possible. It was something that I was blessed to have in certain spaces. Um but I was certain things that I wanted a little bit more hands on and being honest, sometimes serving as a mentor is a lot and it’s something you can’t all the time fully commit to, but if you give that open space to a young professional who has a question or even established um professional to where it’s like I know how to do social and you know how to do, you know, a different type of traditional, how can we work together to where it makes the most sense? 

And that’s one thing that I’ve committed to as well as making sure that whomever we’re hiring.

We currently have a fully Black-led team right now, but of course we’re open to whoever has the talent we need. We just make it a priority to make sure that we’re giving that opportunity for improvement for growth for Black graduates and for us to serve as mentors and career sponsors. I also am adamant on being very transparent and very honest about my work and career journey. I think that is something that professionals sometimes may not do, but I wanted to make it a commitment to be very honest and transparent about the advice that is being provided to whomever.

As for the industry, I’m just focusing on being a good human. That’s literally the best way that I can say it. I don’t know what God has in store for me, but on a day by day basis, I will strive to continue to be a good human. I plan on keeping integrity and quality work always at the forefront of my work as well as for anyone who works with our agency. We’re very hands-on with the brands that we work with and represent and we expect a certain type of integrity to be provided based on their mission, cultures, and in the communities they impact. And that goes in a line to me as a founder, trickling down to my staff-  continuing to be good humans and holding integrity at a high front.

You can learn more about The Bee Agency at https://www.thebeeagency.com and follow along with Bee on social media at @beethebrandagent | @thebeeagency