DEEPWATER HORIZON INCIDENT
WORD COUNT: 6000
Executive Summary
On April 20th 2010 bp had a major oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico coined the “Deepwater Horizon Incident” in which eleven (11) person’s loss their lives. This incident negatively affected the company’s brand and bp brand equity plummeted by $7.4bn, representing a 61% fall (Brand Finance 2010).
BPTT which is a subsidiary of bp Global had to treat with the negative impact of this crisis on the local market while keeping its reputation, bp brand and local aspiration alive and treating with any negative fall-out of the event.
The local aspiration encompasses bp brand values of wanting to be progressive, performance driven, innovative and responsible (appendix 2) as stated: “We are pioneers within the BP global Group with a distinctively Trinidad & Tobago identity. In delivering extraordinary business performance, we will actively participate in the development of the country by positively impacting the life of everyone who works for the company, every citizen and the global environment”
A mounted crisis response was necessary which included stakeholder engagement, responding to negative publicity, relationship management, brand management and brand equity to combat the effects of the incident in Trinidad and Tobago.
The following pages seeks to analyze the bpTT position relative to its brand values and aspiration and make recommendations for dealing with future high risk incidents on the anniversary of this event having occurred.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
1 Introduction 4
2 Crisis Response to Deepwater Horizon 6 2.1 The Dilemma – Negative Brand Equity 6 2.2 The Social Media Response 7 2.3 Relationship Marketing and Stakeholders 8 2.4 Marketing Research Conducted 10
3 Did BP get it Right? 12 3.1 The Corporate Directive 12 3.2 Did the social media campaign work effectively 13 3.3 Brand Equity – Can we live up to
References: accessed (01 April 2011) Bruce Clay, Inc - BP, Crisis Communications and Social Media July 01, 2010 http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/2010/07/bp-crisis-communications-and-social-media/ accessed (01 April 2011) http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/bps-winscoveted-emerald-paintbrush-award-worst-greenwash-2008-20081218 accessed (01 April, 2011) Crisis Communication Plan: A PR Blue Print (Sandra K Christopher, M, Payne, A & Ballantyne, D (1991) Relationship Marketing. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann Christopher, M, Payne, A & Ballantyne, D (2002) Relationship Marketing, Creating Stakeholder Value Dawar, N (2006) What are brands good for? MIT Sloan Management Review, 46 (1), 31–7 Derrick Daye and Brad VanAuken (July 19, 2010) http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2010/07/negative-brand-equity-a-bp-death-sentence.html accessed (01 April, 2011) Duncan, T R (2002) IMC: Using Advertising and Promotion to Build Brands, New York: McGraw-Hill Doyle, P (2002) Marketing Management and Strategy, 3rd ed. FT Prentice Hall Hollensen S How BP is handling its P.R. disaster http://www.slate.com/id/2253099/ accessed (01 April, 2011) Jaworski, B, Kohli, A K & Sahay, A (2000) Market driven versus driving markets Tankersley Jim, A closer look at deep-water drilling – June 10, 2010 Tribune Washington Bureau http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/10/nation/la-na-oil-spill-qa-20100610 accessed (01 April, 2011) 7 Bibliographies Kotler, P and Armstrong G (2008) Principles of Marketing , 12th edition , Pearson Prentice Hall Safety: Over 12 million man hours without a Day Away from Work Case (as at January 2009). Among top performers in BP Exploration & Production segment. Capex (2010): Approx US$324 million Contribution to T&T GDP (2009): 10 %.