The most powerful work you’ll ever create starts with a decision, not a budget. Create anyway.
That’s the lesson that crossed the finish line at CreativeMornings Charlotte on May 1, 2026 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where Grammy-honored artist and nonprofit founder Dennis Reed Jr. delivered a keynote on May’s Creative Mornings global theme: Create. For PR and marketing professionals, his story offers a powerful example of community-built visibility, earned media, and creative collaboration in motion.
The Campaign That Started With a Phone Book
At 17, Dennis Reed Jr. had no CRM, no social media strategy, no agency retainer. He had a gift, a phone book, and a decision to use what he had. He called local churches, printed flyers, and launched what would become Inspire the Fire, a Charlotte-based nonprofit now over 20 years old.
The PR lesson: organic community building is still the most durable brand strategy. Dennis didn’t buy awareness. He created something worth talking about, and let the community do the rest. The result? A city-declared holiday in his honor, appearances on national television, and spotlights on stages from the Super Bowl to the Grammys.
Earned Media at Scale: The SAINTED Trap Choir Story
Dennis co-founded SAINTED Trap Choir with DJ Fannie Mae, a gospel choir performing in a club setting, and the concept earned media that no press release could have manufactured. Their America’s Got Talent golden buzzer moment reached millions. Follow-on bookings included the Super Bowl LX national anthem with Charlie Puth, the 68th Grammy Awards with Pharrell and Clipse, and a performance for Oprah Winfrey at the celebration of Dr. Maya Angelou’s life.
The PR lesson: a differentiated concept, consistently executed in public, becomes its own media engine. The pitch writes itself when the story is genuinely original, authentic, and creative.
Collaboration as a Growth Strategy
One slide in Dennis’s presentation said everything: a photo of Ludacris, who found SAINTED Trap Choir through social media and personally invited them to Atlanta. No cold outreach. No influencer contract. Just consistent, visible creative work that attracted the right collaborators.
For marketers and PR pros, this is the case study for content-led brand authority: show up, create in public, and let strategic partnerships find you.
My Collaboration Campaign Story: Glen Ellyn Idol
I’ve run campaigns built on exactly this principle. For example, Little Houses on the Prairie Path, a cause marketing initiative for the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce and Bridge Communities, started with custom playhouses built by local contractors and a press campaign structured like a children’s storybook. It grew into Glen Ellyn Idol: a full community talent show with professional judges, a Billy Joel tour sound engineer, and the grand prize? A live performance at Taste of Glen Ellyn.
The winner went on to open a recording studio in Nashville.
The marketing lesson: layer your collaborators like a production. One hand reaches out. Another grabs hold. Keep going until you have a full circle. The campaign becomes a community, and the community becomes your best distribution channel as well as your foundation force.
FAQs: Applying “Create Anyway” to PR and Marketing
Q: How do I launch a campaign when I don’t have the full budget yet?
Start with what you have. Dennis launched Inspire the Fire with a phone book and a borrowed church. Define the smallest viable version of your campaign, execute it well, and let momentum build the budget case. A proof-of-concept story is often more persuasive than a proposal.
Q: What’s the PR value of community events?
Enormous, and chronically underestimated. Local events generate hyper-targeted earned media, authentic social content, community goodwill, and long-tail brand recall. People in Glen Ellyn still asked about Glen Ellyn Idol years later. That kind of organic brand memory is nearly impossible to buy.
Q: How do you attract high-profile collaborators without a big name yet?
Create consistently and visibly. SAINTED Trap Choir didn’t cold-pitch Ludacris. They showed up, performed, and posted, and the right person noticed. Your public-facing creative work is your best business development tool.
Q: What’s the difference between a campaign that builds community and one that just generates impressions?
Participation. Dennis opened his keynote by asking the entire audience to sing with him. The audience became co-creators, not consumers. Design campaigns where your audience has a role to play, not just content to watch.
Q: When is a campaign “ready” to launch?
When it’s good enough to be useful, not when it’s perfect. As Dennis said: “Create before you’re ready.” Waiting for perfect conditions in PR means watching someone else take the story. Ship it, learn, iterate.
Q: How do I find the right collaborators for a campaign?
Start in your community. Dennis found his first 152 singers/collaborators by making phone calls and showing up. The best partnerships often begin locally, with people who share your values and audience, not necessarily your biggest reach.
The Takeaway for PR and Marketing Pros
Dennis Reed Jr.’s career is a collection of successful case studies in brand-building through authentic creativity, community trust, and strategic collaboration. He didn’t chase publicity; he created things worth covering. The media, the awards, the Super Bowl stage, they followed the work.
Create before you’re ready. Collaborate widely. Show up consistently.
Your most memorable work does more than get attention. It brings people in, builds trust, and gives them something worth sharing.
That’s not just good advice for artists. That’s a solid gold brand strategy.
Barbara Rozgonyi is the founder of CoryWest Media, the publisher of wiredPRworks, a top 40 PR blog, a keynote speaker and PR visibility strategist who helps brands, executives, and thought leaders earn attention the right way, right away. Subscribe to her LinkedIn newsletter, Brighter Presence™, and learn more at wiredprworks.com.
AI edited this post based on my original content, stories, and photography. More images on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook.
