There is always room for someone who does the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

Adele proves it every day as her soulful album outsells so much of the fabricated pop music around her on the charts.

And Belgium-born Australian singer Gotye (pronounced Got-ee-aye) is about to do the same with his understated and haunting breakup song “Somebody That I Used To Know“.

There’s no guest appearance from Pitbull. It doesn’t sound like Katy Perry. Good luck finding a Nickelback guitar riff.

“Somebody That I Used To Know” is so simple that it’s complicated. It sounds like nothing else out there, and that’s why the world is paying attention to it.

The business takeaway is that sometimes it pays handsomely to zag when everyone else is zigging.

If you do things just like your competitors do, you’ll be invisible. You’ll be doing the expected, and human beings ignore the expected. We only notice the unexpected.

Think about your drive to work this morning. Did you notice every single highway sign that you saw? Of course not. But had you seen, as Seth Godin wrote, a giant purple cow on your drive to work, you would have paid attention. You would have stopped to take a picture.

Keep in mind that this isn’t being different for the sake of being different. If your “zag” lacks anything meaningful and positive, you might still get noticed… but it probably won’t help you.

But when your business finds that magic combination of a meaningful and positive difference that goes completely against the grain of what is expected in your field, it is usually a branding home run.

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Jimmy Buffett will take his brand to a new city when he adds a third Margaritville Casino Resort to his growing chain. The new one in Bossier City, LA joins existing ones in Las Vegas and Biloxi. The new Margaritaville will contain Jimmy’s new “Five O’Clock Somewhere” bar. It never ceases to impress and amaze me how Jimmy has expertly turned his natural personality and his one major hit into a massive money-making brand. While the “Business Lessons from Buffett” post could be the foundation for another book, here are three core lessons to take away:

1. Make sure everything you do reflects what your fans expect from you. Everything Jimmy does is perfectly in tune with his laid back Key West beach bum image.

2. Extend your brand only in directions that make sense to your customers. Casinos and bars make sense. And while putting his Landshark Lager name on an outdoor football stadium in Miami made sense, it wouldn’t make any sense to put it on a hockey arena in Boston.

3. Always take credit for everything that is yours. You won’t find a single Buffett property without his name on it. It isn’t just Margaritaville restaurant, it is Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant.

KISS are nearly as impressive as Buffett, although their approach has been to simply put their name on everything from dolls to lunch boxes to condoms and even coffins. Now they are unveiling the new KISS “Hotter Than Hell” wedding chapel in Las Vegas. The chapel opens in March, and Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are confirmed as guests for the special first wedding. The KISS marketing strategy is a little different from Buffett’s. Here are three cool take away lessons from KISS:

1. Get their attention first. They’ve been doing outrageous attention-getting things since day one, and they continue to do so. KISS continues to get our attention by doing remarkable things, like opening a wedding chapel in Las Vegas.

2. Make a personal investment. Gene and Paul will be there at the first wedding. They were pioneers of the concept of selling VIP tickets to concerts that included a chance to meet the band. Not much happens in the KISS world without the personal approval and participation of the key people in the band.

3. Always take credit for everything that is yours. Same as the Jimmy Buffett lesson. Gene Simmons doesn’t star in Family Jewels, he stars in Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels.  The new wedding chapel isn’t the Hotter Than Hell Wedding Chapel, it is the KISS Hotter Than Hell Wedding Chapel.

Have you downloaded the free ebook Musical Compaion to Brand Like A Rock Star?  It is the #5 Marketing book in the free Kindle store.

Purchase the paperback version of Brand Like A Rock Star or download the digital edition instantly from Amazon.

To keep in touch, you can also join the discussion on the Facebook page and http://twitter.com/rockstarbrands.

Photograph of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Restaraunt in Grand Cayman, taken by Steve Jones.

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In the years before Michael Jackson passed away, you didn’t often hear his music on the radio. But as soon as he died, we wanted to hear his music again. His songs were everywhere.

The same thing will happen this week with Whitney Houston.

You see, when something is rare we naturally perceive it’s value to be higher.

John Lennon’s album Double Fantasy came out just three weeks before he was shot in December 1980. When critics first reviewed the album, most were unimpressed and some were downright scathing. Prior to Lennon’s death, the album was at #46 in the UK and #11 in the USA. Then, wimmediately after his murder, the album shot to #1 and went on to win Album of the Year at the 1981 Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone would later name the album the 29th best album of the 1980s.

What happened? Simple. We lost John Lennon and came to the stark realization that his music would no longer be with us. Knowing that, we placed new and increased value on his music. Instead of a mediocre album, we saw Double Fantasy as musical genius… in part because of the circumstances, not the music.

The death of Whitney Houston is no doubt a sad tragedy.

At one time, she was an amazing singer with a magical voice. She made history with her success. But as you watch the tributes to Whitney pour in this week, remember that over the past decade her music had been invisible on radio stations and her name had only been in the headlines for negative reasons. A few days ago, the world was not clamoring to hear “I Will Always Love You” one more time. Nobody was downloading “The Greatest Love of All” from iTunes.

That all changed with her passing.

The relationship to business is clear: when the supply of something is infinite, value is naturally lowered. When supply runs short of demand, perceived value goes up.

RIP Whitney Houston, 1963-2012.

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Okay Rock Stars… today I’m asking for your help. It will only take a few minutes, but it will make a huge difference. And I will be very grateful.

Much like a band would release single songs from an album, I’m looking at releasing several chapters of Brand Like A Rock Star as small ebooks for $1 or so each. My question to you is simple… which chapters should I release?

If you haven’t read the book, you can download it instantly for less than $8 here, and be reading it in minutes. I can’t give you your money back if you don’t like it, but you can read the reviews yourself… I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Chapter One (AC/DC and The Art of Consistency) is already available as a free sample and has been downloaded over 7,000 times, so that chapter is out. (you can download it free here)

What chapter got you thinking about branding and business in a new way?

Which chapter inspired you to try something different?

What chapters did you come back to and read again?

Is there a specific chapter that moved you in a powerful way?

Please answer by leaving a comment in the comments section below.

Coming later this week: I’m working on two rock star blog posts that I think you’ll really enjoy. Monday we’ll compare how Jimmy Buffett and KISS have both brilliantly branded themselves, but using somewhat different strategies. I will show you three branding lessons from each act and demonstrate how they are different, yet similar, in how they build their brands.  Then later in the week you’ll read about how smart brands (and bands) market to our ideals, not to our realities, and I’ll show you how to craft your marketing message to reflect your customer’s values and ideals.

And if you haven’t read the free “Musical Companion” to Brand Like A Rock Star, you can download that ebook free as well.

Don’t forget to join in the discussion on Facebook at www.facebook.com/brandlikearockstar and follow @rockstarbrands on Twitter.

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Lady Gaga might not be your cup of tea, but you can’t deny that she’s damn smart.

You’ve probably heard her recent hit “You and I” on the radio, and chances are good that you heard a version specifically recorded for the city you live in.

If you live in New York, you heard this version. Across the Hudson in New Jersey, you heard this version.

Those in Minnesota got a version just for their 10,000 lakes. But a few miles away in Wisconsin, they had their own twist.

Californians had theirs. Texans got one customized for the Lone Star State. Arkansas heard this one. And the list goes on.

The difference between all of these versions is simply what state she sings about. In the original version of the song, it was Nebraska. But with a little extra effort and time in the studio, it was pretty easy to sing different versions for nearly every star on the flag.

Does your business put in the extra effort to target customers based on where they live?

Using various social media tools, it is relatively easy to monitor what people are saying in your community about the product you sell. Do you engage them?

As an author, I could have written several digital versions of Brand Like A Rock Star, each one unique for the territory in which it would be sold. The version for sale in the UK might focus on Robbie Williams, Slade, and Lily Allen, while the version sold in Australia might include chapters on Daddy Cool, Jimmy Barnes, and Midnight Oil. In Canada, a few words about Corey Hart, Platinum Blonde, and Streetheart wouldn’t have hurt.

Come to think of it, I might just do that for my next book.

Customers bond with content created just for them. The further away from “home” the content is perceived to exist, the less relevant it is perceived to be. Like Lady Gaga, you should be using geography to your advantage.

For some ideas on how to put Location-Based Marketing to work for you, read this list that Mashable created of 13 location based marketing tips from entrepreneurs.

And check out Brand Like A Rock Star, now on sale with a few simple clicks. You could be reading it within five minutes in digital download, or the paperback could be on its way to your home.

Click here to read more about how LMFAO and Huey Lewis & The News have also created location-based hits in the past.

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A few years ago, my wife and I were thinking about building a new home. We spoke to a number of builders in our community, and after a few meetings something started to become clear… any one of the builders would build us pretty much anything we wanted.

Sure, there were a few specialists, but those ones were only on the high end building expensive luxury homes.

Rock stars specialize… so why don’t more businesses?

Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t record acoustic ballads. John Mayer doesn’t bite heads off bats. Each of them does their thing, and does it very, very well.

Rock star brands specialize as well.

Consider the case of Coca-Cola. I think we can agree that Coke is a reasonably successful brand, right?

Coke makes Coke and Diet Coke, along with variations like Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke. Frankly, they probably make too many variations for their own good, but that’s a post for another day.

Coke makes hundreds of other drinks, but they aren’t called Coke.

Coke also makes water. They call it Dasani.

Coke also makes a sports drink.  It’s Powerade.

Coke even makes mixers for alcholic drinks. They are the makers of Baccardi Mixers like mojito, pina colada, and daquiri.

Coca-Cola makes over 3,500 products in over 200 countries, but there’s only one Coke.

How can we apply this to home builders?

If you really can build any home for any one, then create several independent home building companies that share back-office functions.

One division specializes in custom-built luxury homes.

Another division focuses on the everyday homes from plans.

Yet another division builds entry-level homes with attractive price points.

And another builds cottages and recreational homes.

You see where this is going.

You can apply the same lesson to nearly any business.

If you want to make your business famous for something, choose ONE thing and do it really, really well. And if you want to do something else, start a new business that does that new thing very, very well.

Focus is essential to business. And focus is a big part of the book Brand Like A Rock Star: Lessons From Rock ‘n’ Roll To Make Your Business Rich And Famous. The book is on sale at on-line and in-store retail locations everywhere, and you can order it instantly right now in digital download or paperback.

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On February 22, the world will celebrate National Margarita Day.

And where will they celebrate?

Margaritaville, of course, a the network of restaurants owned by musician Jimmy Buffett, with locations across North America and the Caribbean.

National Margarita Day isn’t a Hallmark holiday. It is a Jimmy Buffett holiday. The brains behind the Buffett brand have wisely taken over the day and used it for three years as a massive public relations stunt. How much free press will Margaritaville grab thanks to National Margarita Day? I’m certain the value is in the millions.

The day to day news cycle presents countless opportunities to use to your advantage.

Using Google Alerts, you can constantly be monitoring the internet for mentions of your product, competitors, category, or business.

Before these stories become major news, you can “newsjack” your brand into the equation.

Here are four ways in which the current news cycle could be used to a business’ PR advantage:

1. ”The Grey” is the #1 movie this week.  The storyline follows a group of oil workers who survive a plane crash in Alaska, only to be hunted down by a pack of wolves. A smart tourism outfitter in the Alaskan wilderness could use this opportunity to protest how wolves are portrayed in the movie, and organize a boycott of the movie. Certainly that would get some attention in the media.

2. Nine people have died in car accidents in Florida this week because of reduced visbility due to smoke from brush fires. If you owned an auto repair shop in Florida, this would be an excellent time to issue a press release about the lack of care people put into their headlights. You would be able to become the go-to person to comment on the fact that with regular cleaning, adjusting, and upgrading of headlights, roads could be significantly safer.

3. A friend of mine has recently launched a line of vending machines that dispense only healthy food. He’s been actively using the news cycle to target emerging news stories about obesity and related health issues. As these stories emerge, he engages journalists, bloggers, and others so that they turn to him for comment. He’s positioning hismself as an expert in making schools and workplaces healthier.

4. Last Christmas during my visit to the Cayman Islands, I was discussing the island’s marketing campaign with a friend. If I were advising the Cayman Islands government, I would suggest that they use the violence in Mexico and Jamaica to their newsjacking advantage. Every time a tourist is attacked in Mexico or Jamaica, the Cayman Islands tourism department should issue a press release about what steps they have successfully taken to ensure that not a single tourist is harmed in their country. They could offer to share their knowledge and experience with more violent tourism destinations.

Author David Meerman Scott has a new book out called Newsjacking, and it goes much deeper into the idea of using the news cycle to generate PR.  You can read more about the book, and the newsjacking techniques that David used to launch it, on his blog here.

And you can order Brand Like A Rock Star, featuring an entire chapter on this concept, right here.

Photo: taken by Steve Jones in West Bay, Cayman Islands. Moments after taking this picture, the photographer poured himself a margarita.

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This is episode #1 of a new podcast series presented by The Music Biz Weekly. “The Rock Star Branding Podcast” uses the book Brand Like A Rock Star as inspiration for a series of discussions to help new and emerging bands establish themselves using the lessons of rock legends.

The podcast is hosted by Michael Brandvold, Brian Thompson, and Steve Jones.

Michael was the driving force behind the online presence of KISS and numerous other artists. He owns Michael Brandvold Marketing and works with musicians and businesses to build stronger connections to their fans and customers.

Brian Thompson is the man behind Thorny Bleeder Records and in addition to artist management and consulting, he has a great track record helping artists develop social media strategies.

And if you’re reading this, I assume you know a little bit about me. I’m Steve Jones, author of Brand Like A Rock Star: Lessons From Rock ‘n’ Roll To Make Your Business Rich And Famous.

The Rock Star Branding Podcast 1 by Brand Like a Rock Star

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Lennon had McCartney.

Jagger has Richards.

Kanye has Jay Z.

Who in your world makes you noticably better?

There are two kinds of people in the world. A good friend of mine calls them “keys” and “locks”. “Keys” are people who open doors for you and in you. They make what you do better. “Locks” attempt to shut you down. They don’t get it.

Rock stars find collaborators who are “keys”.

If you want your business to be successful, you need to do the same thing.

One thing rock stars are famous for, and hip hop stars even more famous for, is their entourage. Rock stars surround themselves with people who enrich their lives. They eliminate people who don’t. The result is an environment where great things happen. Legendary songs are written. Magic happens.

Certainly business success isn’t as simple as just surrounding yourself with good people, but I can guarantee that it will be a hell of a lot harder to build a winning brand if you surround yourself with nay-sayers, negativity, and pessimists.

“Locks” are out there. They are inevitable. You need to deal with them swiftly and decisively. Get rid of them. If you can’t get rid of them completely, illegitimi non carborundum. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.

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Some people have a knack for comedic timing. You know those people who know not just what to say, but precisely when to say it.

Bruce Springsteen has that knack when it comes to singing. He knows not just what song to sing, but exactly when to sing it.

Think about it. In 1984, when “greed is good” ruled and the possibilities were limitless, Bruce reminded a generation that amidst all of that prosperity, some people were getting left behind. In Born In The USA Bruce told us the story of a returning Vietnam veteran, coming home to a country turning its back on him, refusing to acknowledge the mess of an ugly war.

In the months after September 11, 2011, he gave us the gift of The Rising. No piece of music so perfectly captured our collective heartbeat the way Bruce did when he painfully sang about climbing the stairs of a burning World Trade Center from the point of view of an innocent New York firefighter just doing his job.

Today, with a fractured political landscape and a teetering economy that scares the sh*t out of us on a daily basis, Bruce hands us a wonderful new song called We Take Care Of Our Own (click on the link to listen). With shades of Born In The USA, Bruce reminds us to look out for those around us, from “Chicago to New Orleans… from the shotgun shack to the Superdome… wherever this flag is flown, we take of our own.”

Why is a Springsteen-like sense of timing important for your business?  

I don’t know. Maybe you should ask the cruise lines that placed these ads. 

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