Consumer public relations is the practice of earning trust and repeat selection from everyday shoppers through press coverage, reviews, creator content, and word of mouth rather than paid ads alone. 5WPR's 2024 Consumer Culture Report found that word of mouth (46%) and reviews (44%) drive brand selection, so consumer PR succeeds by shaping what shoppers hear about a brand from other people. Three truths about shopper behavior explain how.
What Does Consumer PR Do for a Brand?
Consumer PR places a brand inside the sources shoppers already consult before selection: press coverage, product reviews, creator videos, and conversations among friends. The 2024 Consumer Culture Report from 5WPR measured that pull directly, with word of mouth at 46% and reviews at 44% as leading drivers of brand selection.
That makes the job different from advertising. An ad states what the brand wants shoppers to believe, while consumer PR gives shoppers reasons to repeat the brand's name to someone else. Ronn Torossian, founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations, points to three truths about shopper behavior that decide whether that repetition happens.
Do Shoppers Select the Product a Brand Is Known For?
Shoppers select the product a brand is known for, so consumer PR should reinforce that core product before it promotes anything new. Torossian advises brands that expand to add options without rebranding, and to keep the product that earned market share at the center unless it has become obsolete.
McDonald's shows the pattern. Its 2023 Grimace Birthday Meal paired a purple, berry-flavored shake with McNuggets or a Big Mac and fries, so the new item rode on products shoppers already ordered. McDonald's reported U.S. same-store sales up 10.3% in the second quarter of 2023, and CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors the Grimace Shake Challenge passed 3 billion views on TikTok.
The campaign also carried a risk. Much of that TikTok content was user-generated horror-style clips that McDonald's did not script, according to Marketing Dive, which is the price of handing a campaign to shoppers. Brands that plan consumer packaged goods launches should decide in advance how much of that control they are willing to give up.
How Much Do Habits Decide Consumer Brand Selection?
Habit decides most repeat selection because a core group of shoppers will not move to a new item no matter how it is promoted. Torossian notes this holds for cars, hairspray, and cheeseburgers alike: fans want what they already love, so a launch should reinforce habitual selection instead of asking loyal shoppers to change.
Habit has a price limit. 5WPR's 2023 Consumer Culture Report found that 66% of consumers would switch brands for a value alternative. A brand that relies on loyalty alone has nothing to say to that group, so the practical move is to pair reminders for loyal shoppers with proof, such as reviews and independent comparisons, for shoppers weighing a cheaper option.
Do Shoppers Select What They Want or What They Need?
Shoppers select what they want more often than what they feel they should need, and consumer PR works with that tendency instead of against it. Torossian argues that when want and need collide, taste almost always wins, and that successful consumer PR firms in every industry build campaigns around that fact.
The spending data points the same way. The 2023 Consumer Culture Report found that 60% of consumers still spend beyond necessities despite inflation. A shopper who looks at the salad and orders the Big Mac is making that choice, and the Grimace campaign sold a shake and a meal, not a nutrition message.
What Are the Three Moves of a Consumer PR Plan?
A consumer PR plan has three moves: reinforce the core product, keep habitual shoppers, and lead with what shoppers want. The table shows what the brand does in each move and the evidence behind it.
| Move | What the brand does | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Reinforce the core product | Launches new items beside the flagship product, not in place of it | McDonald's Grimace Birthday Meal kept McNuggets and the Big Mac at the center (2023) |
| Keep habitual shoppers | Reminds loyal shoppers and gives price-driven shoppers proof | 66% would switch for a value alternative (5WPR Consumer Culture Report, 2023) |
| Lead with what shoppers want | Builds campaigns around the experience shoppers want, then adds the practical case | 60% spend beyond necessities despite inflation (5WPR Consumer Culture Report, 2023) |
How Does AI Search Change Consumer Brand Selection?
AI assistants now sit between shoppers and the sources that shape selection, because shoppers ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews to vet brands before they visit a store or website. 5WPR's Black Friday analysis found that 44% of consumer AI prompts focus on fact-checking new brands and validating sale prices.
Those assistants draw on the same reviews, coverage, and creator content that consumer PR earns. 5WPR explains the mechanism in its guides to query fan out and consumer brand recommendations and to how consumers fact-check brands with AI.
What Should a Consumer Brand Do First?
A consumer brand should start with the product shoppers already associate with it, put that product where word of mouth and reviews form, and add new items beside it instead of in place of it. 5W's consumer PR agency services build that plan for consumer brands.
Last updated October 2026.
