A fundamental misunderstanding about public relations is that it is event-driven. PR is culture-driven. Most organizational crises don’t emerge from unforeseen circumstances and external forces; they stem from cultural voids, from the absence of shared understanding and genuine relationships. They are essentially self-inflicted. Organizations that neglect to embed communication in ongoing cultural contexts where relationships and mutual comprehension are cultivated are more vulnerable to crisis, not because they lack crisis management protocols, but because they lack the relational foundation that prevents crises from occurring in the first place. Consider why most people don’t actively seek to hurt loved ones or friends. It’s because they exist within an active culture of cohabitation, mutual respect, and shared identity. When brands make decisions that offend stakeholders, the root cause is typically a fundamental disconnect from the communities they claim to serve. The malicious intent or strategic miscalculation experienced is generally a subsequent consequence of the lack of understanding and, more critically, a disregard for shared identity. Effective communication enhances stakeholder relationships and commitment to the organization. But this effectiveness emerges from ongoing cultural investment, not reactive damage control.
Jeep’s collapse under Stellantis reveals what happens when communication is seen as event driven. The event: reposition Jeep for profit, public and culture be damned. For decades, Jeep owners formed a tribe rooted in ruggedness, substance over status. When Carlos Tavares pivoted toward luxury positioning in 2021, he betrayed the Jeep culture, its identity. The community that once gathered at trail rides and helped strangers out of mud watched their brand pursue customers who valued leather seats over trail ratings, pristine driveways over muddy bumpers. The result? 20 percent sales drop, dealer revolts, and loyal customers walking away. Stellantis responded with a typical crisis communications playbook, removing the CEO and trying to play the public. This is another misstep. No amount of press releases or clever copy will rebuild the relationship and respect destroyed by betrayal of Jeep values forged over generations. What would be a better approach? Being human. Having Carlos Tavares admit he wet the bed and explain why he did it. Then invite the public to be an active part of the rebuild. Rather than copy flashy reels, facilitate real conversations: If Jeep fails to exist, we all lose. Let us fix this together. The moment needs reflection and recommitment. No rudimentary optics.
Relationships as the Foundation of All Public Relations
The term “public relations” contains its own instruction manual: it’s about relationships with publics, not campaigns targeted at audiences. Public relations should therefore be ongoing and woven into the fabric of any brand genuinely seeking to transcend transactional relationships. Relationships are inherently experiential. They’re built through countless small interactions, moments of recognition, acts of reciprocity, and demonstrations of genuine care. The fundamentals of relationships fundamentally apply to public relations. Consider a simple yet profound example: when a software company shares the background context for an update and gives meaningful credit—truly meaningful, not perfunctory—to the user or user cohort whose feedback inspired the improvement. This isn’t PR in the traditional sense. There’s no media strategy, no campaign metrics, no grand narrative. Yet it embodies the essence of relational communication: acknowledgment, transparency, and shared ownership of outcomes. Businesses constantly engage with customers through a series of touchpoints, collect feedback, and use that information to improve products, services, and the overall experience. But the magic lies not in the feedback loop itself, but in how those interactions make individuals feel seen, valued, and integral to the brand’s evolution. This is basic human relationship architecture. When someone feels heard and credited, their investment in the relationship deepens. When their contributions are acknowledged publicly, they experience the dopamine hit of social recognition. When they see their input manifest in tangible improvements, they develop what psychologists call “ownership bias”: a deeper attachment to outcomes they helped create.
The most resilient brands understand that every customer service interaction, every product update communication, every social media response is an opportunity to strengthen relational bonds. They recognize that meaningful credit activates the same neural reward pathways as interpersonal recognition in close relationships. When a brand consistently demonstrates that it sees, values, and acts upon stakeholder input, it creates what relationship researchers call “relational security”: the psychological safety that comes from knowing one’s voice matters and one’s contributions are valued. This security becomes the immune system that protects against crisis, because stakeholders approach brand missteps from a foundation of trust rather than suspicion.
Community: The Social Identity Foundation
Research in social psychology reveals a profound truth: fandom—the social component of fan identity—was found to be a significant predictor of psychological well-being while fanship—the more individualistic component of fan identity—was not. This distinction illuminates why some brands cultivate devoted communities while others struggle with transient consumer relationships. Social Identity Theory explains how individuals define themselves based on their group memberships and seek to enhance self-esteem by identifying with in-groups and differentiating from out-groups. Successful experiential PR taps into this fundamental human need for belonging, creating spaces where individual identity becomes intertwined with collective purpose. When brands facilitate genuine community formation, they unlock powerful psychological benefits that extend far beyond commercial transactions. Members participate, advocate, and derive meaning from their association. This is far “stickier” than trying to win on any single interaction.
Community Bridge-BuildingThe difference between authentic community building and superficial cross-pollination lies in depth versus breadth. Cross-pollination assumes shared interests automatically create connection. A rather shallow premise that generates fleeting engagement. Authentic bridge-building recognizes that lasting communities form around shared values, mutual support, and collective identity construction. The K-pop fandom community has transnationally evolved through social media, making itself known and represented through the pronoun “we” for identity work. This linguistic shift from “I” to “we” signals the emergence of collective identity, where individual experiences become part of a larger narrative.
True Community Bridging RequirementsEmotional Scaffolding: Creating experiences that allow vulnerability and genuine connection, not just shared consumption. This means designing moments where participants can express authentic aspects of themselves within the safety of group identity.
Narrative Co-Creation: Enabling community members to contribute to and shape the brand story, rather than passively consuming predetermined messages. When individuals help write the collective narrative, their investment deepens exponentially.
Ritual and Symbolism: Establishing meaningful traditions, symbols, and practices that reinforce group identity and create emotional touchstones. These elements activate the brain’s pattern recognition systems, making community membership feel natural and important.
Progressive Engagement: Designing pathways for increasing involvement that respect individual comfort levels while providing opportunities for deeper commitment. This mirrors the psychological principle of foot-in-the-door compliance, where small commitments lead to larger ones.
The Art-Science Synthesis in Everyday Practice
The most powerful experiential PR isn’t found in grand events or elaborate campaigns. It lives in the daily rhythm of respectful, transparent, and reciprocal communication. Co-creation experience and brand engagement are pivotal value experiences that can increase online brand community continuance intention. But co-creation isn’t a campaign, it’s an organizational philosophy that recognizes stakeholders as collaborators rather than consumers. These ongoing interactions function as carefully orchestrated symphonies, where every element serves both artistic and scientific purposes, creating emotionally resonant moments while strategically activating memory consolidation pathways. They tell compelling stories while building genuine relationship infrastructure. Consider how effective ongoing communication layers novelty with familiarity, surprise with comfort, individual recognition within group celebration. Spaced repetition and retrieval practice strengthen memory traces. Create ongoing touchpoints that invite active recall rather than passive recognition.
Beyond Fandom: Transformative Belonging
So, what’s the goal of experiential PR, is it to create fans? No. The goal of experiential PR is catalyzing transformation through authentic relationships. When practiced with integrity and psychological sophistication, these ongoing experiences don’t just change minds; they change lives. Participants discover new aspects of themselves through group identity, find meaning through collective purpose, and develop lasting connections that extend beyond brand interaction. This transformation occurs because authentic relationship building addresses fundamental human needs: the need to belong, to contribute, to be seen and valued by others. When we facilitate these deeper psychological satisfactions consistently over time, loyalty becomes existential. Because beneath every consumer is a human being seeking connection, meaning, and authentic expression. Wedding artistic intuition with scientific rigor, building genuine relationships rather than managing audiences, exceptional create islands of genuine human connection with a defensible moat against the varied species of sharks in the great blue attention ocean where culture eats crisis for breakfast. Investing in authentic relationships, with respect and recognition in their DNA, where stakeholders feel genuinely seen and valued through countless small acts of acknowledgment transforms crises into conversations, challenges into collaborations, and communities into a competitive advantage. Don’t see a transaction/event. See a transformation/evolution.