Mary Elizabeth Germaine
Chief Data & Strategy Officer
August 19, 2025
Brand salience is more critical than ever in today’s hyper-competitive landscape. To win, brands must not only be top of mind, but they must also be recalled unprompted. Achieving this requires more than just being present; it’s about being relevant, provocative, and engaging.
It has long been agreed upon that a brand’s success is defined by its ability to create stories and content that others want to share, that spark conversations, and that drive talkability and shareability. For decades, advertising campaigns achieved that goal on their own. But what we’re finding today – in the topsy-turvy times where anyone can produce and publish to tell, really, any story – is that legacy advertising campaigns are no longer enough to deliver meaningful brand differentiation.
Instead, to rise above the noise, brands must move beyond functional messaging and create authentic emotional connections through powerful storytelling. Enter comms. After all, who knows how to best leverage traditional PR alongside modern communications to make your brand truly memorable?
Step One: Rethink the Role of PR and Communications
The landscape has shifted, and, with it, PR and communications practitioners must also think differently about their place within the integrated marketing mix. The reality is, for most brands, relying solely on single moments in time—tentpole campaigns, major product launches, or seasonal events—no longer deliver the sustained brand salience needed to win both mindshare and market share.
Consistency is key: to be memorable, brands need to show up again and again, weaving their story into the everyday lives of consumers. And PR and communications are uniquely positioned to deliver this consistency.
While traditional advertising may capture attention during a big campaign or event, it’s the stories told in between—the moments that fill the gaps—that keep brands top of mind. Relying on a few blockbuster moments is no longer effective. To truly stand out, especially during crowded periods like the holidays, brands need to engage with audiences more frequently and more meaningfully. This is where PR and communications shine.
Step Two: Build a Modern PR and Comms Function
Step Two is critical to success. You can’t just rethink your role, you must reorganize it, too, specifically by:
- Structuring for Integration: Build your team like a mini-Integrated Agency Team (IAT). Embed data specialists, strategists, creatives, and channel experts to ensure recommendations are holistic and effective across platforms.
- Democratizing Data: Give everyone access to data. When all team members can see the bigger picture, proactive and innovative thinking flourishes at every level.
- Demanding Accountability Through Action: Hold the team accountable. Make daily scrum sessions part of your culture and require team members to bring data-driven observations and recommendations to the table.
- Listening Broadly: Don’t limit yourself to traditional social listening. Cast a wider net. Track video, visuals, and emerging platforms to stay immersed in culture and ahead of trends.
It truly is an imperative to success today: To cut through the clutter, brands must use PR and communications not just as a support function, but as a driver of relevance, resonance, and recall. The brands that succeed will be those that show up consistently and authentically, telling stories that connect, inspire, and keep them at the forefront of consumers’ minds.
