Developing story: Following the publishing of this post, Billie Joe Armstrong apparently entered rehab. While that doesn’t change my point, I do wish him nothing but the absolute best in his battle against addiction. I still believe that his actions were a smart way to reinforce his band’s image. Hopefully as a sober performer, he will retain the same vitriol towards authority.

You’re a veteran punk rock band, hired by one of America’s biggest media corporations to play their music festival. Then, just before you are set to go on stage, you find out that your 45 minute set has been cut to 25 minutes in order to allow another act, Usher, more time on stage

What would you do?

In a rare and refreshing show of modern rock ‘n’ roll swagger, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong brought back images of the Sex Pistols, The Who in their heyday, and The Clash. As the stage clock showed one minute left in their set, Billie Joe abruptly stopped playing and unleashed a profanity filled tirade toward the organizers of the event, capping it off by smashing his guitar, flipping his middle finger, and walking off the stage.

How awesome to see a brand (Green Day) that so clearly understands its values and so brilliantly seizes an opportunity to showcase them in a way that gets them massive coverage… at a time when they are about to release three back-to-back-to-back new albums within a few months of each other.

When your brand’s image is anti-authoritarian, rebellious, and destructive, you should be exactly that.

If Taylor Swift had learned her set was being cut short, she would have been much wiser to take her frustrations out through her management team in a private meeting with the concert organizers. It isn’t in Taylor’s girl-next-door image to act like an assh*le.

But it is perfectly in line with Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day’s image to rise up against authority, fight for their cause, and take no bullsh*t from anyone.

Those who boycott Green Day because of this would probably never buy their albums or concert tickets anyway.

And those who love Green Day because of what they stand for now have another reason to love them even more.

Brilliant.

The take-away?

When you are known for a certain set of values, never be afraid to stand up and represent those values in a very bold and public way.

Know and understand your image, and seize every opportunity to further enhance and showcase that image.

You can enjoy Billie Joe Armstrong’s intensity in the video below, but be warned that the language is raw and NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

And to order your copy of Brand Like A Rock Star (including a chapter about the Sex Pistols and punk rock), click here to buy it from Amazon with one click, in either paperback or Kindle.

Today you have the chance to win new customers for your brand.

Not through spending more on marketing than your competitors.

Not by dropping prices lower than anyone else’s.

You have the chance to win new customers today… simply by being kind.

THE BACKSTAGE PASS

Have you ever been backstage at a rock concert? I’ve been there countless times in my nearly 30-years in the music industry, and I can tell you that the backstage meet-and-greet isn’t always what people expect. Far too often the rock star you’ve been wanting to meet forever turns out to be a pompous jerk. Sometimes however, they are far nicer, kinder, and more real than you imagined possible.

I won’t name names, but I’ve been treated like crap backstage before, and I’ve seen stars treat fans poorly.  When the band shows up to meet the dozen or so “lucky” backstage pass holders, the band clearly has zero interest in being there. Nobody is outright rude, but they simply don’t care. They are indifferent towards you, and you can tell. You are made to feel like an idiot for waiting for hours for the chance to meet such a jackass.

On the other hand, I’ve been treated to some backstage experiences that gave me an entirely new appreciation for the artist. Watching Taylor Swift make true eye contact with her fans, even the 10 year-old girls, was impressive. The way she engaged in short but meaningful conversations with every fan was amazing. Taylor was masterful at giving her fans the impression that nothing mattered at that moment more then they did. She earned the respect of every young fan, as well as hundreds of moms and dads who saw their children treated with immense respect. This girl worked magic.

You see, when fans walk backstage they are in awe. They feel like they are not worthy of being in the presence of their idols. So when their idols treat them that way, it stings a little. But in some strange way, they seem to expect it. After all, they aren’t really worthy anyway.

But when your idol makes you feel like an equal, the pleasure is magnified tenfold simply because you don’t expect it. You feel as important as they are. You are walking on air.

It’s Your Choice

Today you’ll have the chance to be Taylor Swift. You can engage your customers in a meaningful way, and leave them with the feeling that they truly matter.

Or you can be the indifferent rock star who has better things to be doing.

Your call. You can have a backstage pass or be a backstage ass.

Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress this week, two weeks after his sexting scandal broke.

Until the scandal emerged, Weiner had a reputation as a passionate and hard-driving member of Congress. He was known for his powerful stance on health care and other social issues, as well as anti-terrorism steps. After voting to support the war in Iraq, Weiner gained a reputation for honesty when he later admitted that it was a mistake.

A few years earlier, President Bill Clinton was treated to oral sex in the Oval Office nine times from a 22 year-old intern and held on to the highest approval ratings of any president since World War II.

How can one person be brought down by sending inappropriate photos of himself, and another survive a sex scandal unlike any the political world had ever seen?

I think it has a lot to do with expectations.

Maybe we sort of expected that kind of behavior from notorious womanizer Bill Clinton. As wild as the allegations against him were, we weren’t all that surprised.  Weiner, on the other hand, was a newlywed with friends like Jon Stewart and a reputation for taking a strong stand on what is right and wrong. Maybe we expected more?

For example, Willie Nelson has been repeatedly arrested for marijuana possession. Nobody notices. If that happened to Taylor Swift, it could be a serious problem for her career.

Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off a bat, and it only enhances his reptuation. If Justin Beiber does it, the effect won’t be quite the same.

KFC can introduce the Double Down sandwich, and business goes up. If Chipotle creates a sandwich like that, they lose customers instantly.

When people expect something from your brand, you’d better live up to it.

Because when expectations aren’t met, bad things happen. Customers leave. Congressmen resign.

Do you really know what your customers expect from you?

Do you have the balls to live up to those expectations?

And the tougher question…

Do you have the balls to say no to opportunities that are temptingly profitable in the short term but damaging to your brand in the long-term?

Please join in the discussion on the Brand Like a Rock Star page on Facebook.

And the book Brand Like a Rock Star is waiting for your pre-order now.

If you’re passionate about great bands and great brands, please click here to subscribe to Brand Like A Rock Star by email. You can also download the free e-book “Three Chords in Thirty Years: How AC/DC Built The Model For Brand Consistency” here: http://www.mediafire.com/?xydnoitdanm.

So much of how the world views your brand is based on what they expect from your brand.

Manage expectations.  That’s a big lesson for brands.

The 77 year-old Willie Nelson was arrested on the Thanksgiving long weekend for pot possession. 

Reaction?  Here are some comments from Twitter.

“Willie Nelson arrested for pot.  That’s like arresting a fish for being in water.”

“Finding pot on Willie Nelson is like finding the clap in a whorehouse.”

“The real news is that they ONLY found 6 ounces of pot in his tour bus.”

“You’d think at 77 year old he would have learned how to hide his pot better by now.”

“Willie arrested for pot possession. God, who made it, is still at large.”

Willie Nelson could get arrested for possession every day of the week and it wouldn’t damage his brand one bit.  In fact, it might actually enhance it.  The world expects Willie Nelson to smoke pot.

On the other hand, if Taylor Swift was arrested for pot possession the entertainment universe would explode with breaking news that would shock and horrify people across the globe.

As a brand, do you truly understand the expectations of your fans?

Rock star brands know those expectations.  They do research to figure it out definitively.  They watch their customers, talk to their customers, and never fail to live up to the expectations of their customers.

If you don’t know the expectations of your fans, and you simply guess at them, you could find yourself in extremely uncomfortable and unprofitable situations.

McDonald’s thought that their customers expected fast food, and pizza seemed like a natural fit.  Millions of dollars went up in smoke.

At one point Coors thought that their customers expected refreshment, so water seemed like a great idea.  Millions of more dollars went up in smoke.

Fortunately, Willie Nelson knowsthat his fans will only love him more after his latest pot bust. No guessing.

If you are passionate about music and business, get Brand Like A Rock Star updates by email.

If you’re passionate about great bands and great brands, please click here to subscribe to Brand Like A Rock Star by email. You can also join the discussion on Facebook.

Rumor is that Taylor Swift, famous for writing songs about her personal relationships and experiences, has written a song about Kanye West and she plans to sing it at the MTV Music Awards tonight.

You probably remember last year, when Kanye stormed the stage after Taylor win the Best Female Video award.  Kanye grabbed the microphone from a stunned Swift and said that the award should have gone to Beyonce.  In the ensuring days and weeks, West felt an extreme backlash and disappeared from the spotlight.

Taylor Swift, meanwhile, has continued her meteoric rise and recently released the first single from her new album.  That song, “Mine”, is already a major hit on the pop and country charts.

Swift has endeared herself to fans through honest songs that are close to her heart.  She’s openly joked that it is hard to find people to date her because of her reputation for writing songs about her heartbreaks.

Brands that connect on a personal level always win.

When I ordered my last iPod through the Apple website, I had a quote from John Lennon engraved on the back.  It was a quote I chose, and the engraving was free.  There is no iPod quite like that one anywhere on earth.  Today my iPhone has a selection of apps that are personal to me.  My friends and coworkers have a different selection of apps, all personal to them.

Many sports manufacturers allow you to personalize your gear, creating equipment in your team colors or your personal favorite colors.  There will be no equipment exactly like yours anywhere.

Through social media sites you can now create an internet experience that is personal to you.  You can wake up to an on-line newspaper that is customized to your personal tastes, interests, and sources.

Smart brands today are like Taylor Swift.  They engage their fans on a personal level.  They communicate in connective language, not transactional words.  By revealing themselves to the world on a human level, they give us the chance to bond with them.  After all, people don’t bond with products or companies.  We bond with other people. 

If you expect your brand to connect with people, you need to find a way to make it human.

If you are passionate about music and business, get Brand Like A Rock Star updates by email.

If you’re passionate about great bands and great brands, please click here to subscribe to Brand Like A Rock Star by email. You can also join the discussion on Facebook.

The young singer had only been on stage for two songs when she stopped for the first time to talk to the 30,000 fans who came out to see her.

“Thank you so much for coming to my concert tonight,” she said with a touch of humility that came across as genuine even from the massive stage.

The audience roared.

She continued. “Could it be that, after only two songs, I’ve fallen in love with you?”

The roar grew even louder.

“I do love you”.  She smiled, and leaned forward from the stage as if she was about to fall into the arms of her fans.

“I love you like I love sparkly dresses.”  The music began, and Taylor Swift launched into another one of her hit songs.  That was the scene Saturday night at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Corny?  Sure.  But watching Taylor Swift in action teaches us a few vital lessons about how to build a solid brand and a lasting connection with your customers and fans.  She didn’t become the biggest-selling artist in the history of digital downloads without doing a few things right.

1. Honesty.  Customers today can see through traditional advertising BS.  They can smell a fake.  Honesty wins.  Brands that communicate honestly with their customers are far more likely to turn those average customers into raving fans.  Taylor Swift knows about honesty, and has developed a reputation for writing songs that reflect her life.  And it seems to be working. ”The more personal my songs were, the more closely people could relate to them,” she told the UK’s “Daily Mail“.

2.  Speak Their Language.  Taylor Swift’s biggest fans are young females and the parents of those same girls, who appreciate the clean image that Swift lives up to.  So when Taylor says things like “I love you like I love sparkly dresses”, she’s speaking the language of her fans.  When she writes songs about boys who mistreated her, she’s speaking the language of her fans.  Do you know your fans well enough to speak to them about things they care about in words that they would use themselves?  Are you brave enough, like Taylor Swift is, to talk about things like sparkly dresses?

3. Involve Yourself In Their Causes. In the same manner as speaking the language of their customers, great brands know about the causes their customers care about and they get invovled in them. Taylor Swift has immersed herself in campaigns to protect young children from on-line predators and to combat internet sex crimes.

4. Live Up To The Image.  That seems to be so very hard for some brands.  BP spent years working on an environmentally conscious image makeover before becoming the world’s environmental scapegoat with the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  Taylor Swift has so far done a masterful job of living up to her image.  She has never been accused of not being the clean-living person she presents herself as, and that further endears her to the fans (and parents) who love her.

Taylor Swift is easy to criticize for being fluff.  She’s an easy target thanks to her lack of “edge”.  She is, however, incredibly talented.  Even the New York Times called her “one of pop’s finest songwriters” who is “more in touch with her inner-life than most adults”.  Not bad for a kid who has yet to turn 21.

The girl with Ms. Swift and me in the picture above is my neighbor’s 10 year-old daughter at her very first concert.  She was pretty excited to meet her idol in person.

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It was another watershed Hugh Grant moment.

The day after making the unwise decision to storm on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards and steal the microphone from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech, Kanye West was scheduled to appear on the first episode of the new 10pm Jay Leno Show.

With almost 18 million viewers, it appears the Gods of Timing smiled on Jay Leno once again.

Flashback to 1995. The week before the release of his movie “Nine Months”, Hugh Grant was busted for lewd conduct in a public place when LAPD caught him engaged in the act with prostitute Divine Brown.

Grant was already booked on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Despite urges to cancel, Grant kept the interview. The result was a moment that defined Jay Leno’s show and set the stage for Grant to continue to have a succesful show biz career.

As Grant got comfortable on the couch, Jay turned to him and asked one simple question.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

Grant paused, and then replied “I think you know in life what’s a good thing to do and a bad thing, and I did a bad thing. And there you have it.”

That willingness to take responsibility and accountability allowed audiences to forgive Hugh Grant, and his career wasn’t derailed.

Can the same be said for Kanye West’s apology on Monday night?

Kanye did seem sincere, and was near tears at one point.

But the difference was that Leno had to coax it out of him with a seemingly contrived and somewhat insensitive question about how Kanye’s late mother would have reacted to his actions.

The result will likely be the same. Kanye West will be forgiven and move along with a succesful career.

Being responsible, and responsive, has never been more important.

In ’95 when Hugh Grant had his moment of indiscretion, there was not an internet (at least as we know it today) and definitely no Twitter or blogosphere to cover every breaking story. There was no way for public outrage to be so easily expressed and swayed.

Remember the Tylenol poisoning scandal of 1982? The product was literally killing people and nobody knew why. Instead of telling the world that it wasn’t their fault (and it wasn’t), Tylenol went forward with an aggressive campaign to pull all of their products from stores, hospitals, and clinics.

Even though only Extra Strength Capsules were poisoned, they removed everything with their name on it.

Even though only Chicago residents had died, they removed everything worldwide. No exceptions.

Tylenol held regular press conferences to update their customers and they were present during the police investigation.

Tylenol then took an industry lead in developing tamper-proof packaging and “gel-caps” that were more secure against tampering.

After the scandal, Tylenol dropped from the category leader to a 9% market share of the pain relief market.

Within a year, they were once again the market leader.

To this day, the person who tainted the Tylenol and poisoned 7 people to death was never caught. And to this day, Tylenol once again controls about 35% of the pain relief market in North America.

The lessons of Kanye West, Hugh Grant, and Tylenol are wise to keep in mind when your brand faces a crisis.

* Be transparent – talk honestly about the issues and don’t try and hide behind others.

* Communicate – use the incredible social networking tools at your disposal to talk to your customers.

* Take responsibility – failure is a temporary state. By admitting to mistakes and failures, you actually have the opportunity to gain trust in the long run.

* Take charge – be Tylenol and lead the way in creating systems to prevent future failures.

Here’s an example of taking responsibility from Maple Leaf Foods, a Canadian meat company that was responsible for a tainted meat scandal last year that killed several people.

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