Howard Stern has made a career out of nasty remarks. Some funny, some racist, some humiliating, some offensive, and some purely entertaining.

Ho’s and racial remarks are an everyday occurrence for him.

So why is Howard Stern rich and Don Imus fired?

Branding my friend…branding.

A brand is a combination of expectations plus experience.

Consider this.

Many wealthy people shop at both Nordstrom and Wal-Mart.

The service between the two retailers is night and day. How can a wealthy person be satisfied with this?

At Nordstrom, you expect to be pampered and have a certain experience. A live piano being played in at the escalator, and more.

Wal-Mart is self-serve. Bare bones. Some of their associates might be able to help you.

Now, how can a wealthy individual be satisfied with Wal-Mart and Nordstrom??

The answer begins with expectations.

The person driving the BMW, Benz, Land Rover- expects less from Wal-Mart because that is their brand.

Howard Stern does what Don Imus did every single day. And the public accepts it because people know what to expect when they listen to Stern (on CBS in past years, and now on Sirius).

Advertisers, too, know what to expect when they advertised on terrestrial radio Stern.

They knew that within a week, they would receive a letter from the American Decency Association threatening to boycott their brand. And those brands who know, might not care or they might relish it as contrarian branding for themselves

But Imus.

Our expectation of the Imus brand is edgy, yes. Controversial, yes.

But intelligent/controversial talk radio as a category (and as a brand) has expectations for listeners who listen and advertisers who advertise.

If Imus had defined his brand like Howard Stern (a daily repertoire of shock) we wouldn’t be talking and writing about Mr. Imus. Par for the course.

The Imus brand, however, defined itself with certain expectations.

And brand erodes down when it does not deliver on consumer expectations.

The words that Imus uttered broke the expectations of a brand…and this is the irony of why Stern is rich and Imus fired.

Mark Hughes is a professional speaker, consultant, and author of the book Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff (Penguin/Portfolio).

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