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Did Harley Davidson create the desire for rebellion and the feeling of freedom that comes from conquering the open road?  Did Starbucks create the desire for a sense of sophistication or for people to feel like they are part of a community?

Of course not!  Harley Davidson and Starbucks simply found wonderfully resonant ways to tap into these deep emotional currents that course through people’s veins.  However, it is important to remember that everyone does not have the same emotional imperatives.  That is why some people buy a Suzuki bike and many people prefer to buy their coffee at Dunkin Donuts.  That is how great branding works – companies find ways to connect with the emotional drivers that move their specific target audience.

When you’re walking down the grocery store aisle, have you ever listened to the tiny voices in the back of your head that are asking questions like, what does this product say about me as a mother?  What does this product say about my status?  Do I prefer to be irreverent or traditional?  Am I frugal or do I prefer to be decadent?

These are all brand questions your semi-conscious or unconscious mind is asking at warp speed.  In fact, according to experts as much as 90% of brand decisions are made at an unconscious emotional level.

So what does this all mean for us as PR professionals?   It means that purchasing decisions are made based on the strength of the brands you represent.  And brands are not built solely on our industry’s traditional view of PR.  They are the sum of the stories and experiences that your core target audience has had with a brand.

This means our profession must become expert at how great brands are created and nurtured.  And we better start helping our clients build resonant brands from the ground up.  If we don’t, others will, and we will move even further from holding that coveted seat at the table.

More and more, C-suite executives want to know how to build and grow great brands, not how to do great PR.  If you can lead the charge in clarifying a company’s brand, build a brand from the ground up, or strengthen a floundering brand — you will have a strategic seat at the management table and your purview and influence will grow astronomically.

Only as holistic brand managers can PR pros move out of the silo that most senior executives expect and assume is our domain.  By leading the branding charge, we now can oversee the integration of all the silos to create a great brand from an internal and external communications perspective that at every touch point resonates the emotional experience you want your target audience to have.  There could not be a more perfect job description for what we aspire to as PR professionals.

The art and science of helping clients grow great brands is a huge opportunity for our industry – one that I hope we do not look back on five years from now and say, “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”