The Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused America to go crazy. America wants BP to pay for everything. Everybody wants to make sure the oil giant is fixing the tourism, jobs and ecological balance difficulties. BP’s TV marketing is costing them $ 1 million a week, reports the London Telegraph. BP’s image to the world is much better with this. Sadly, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce committee expects more of BP.
In just the last four months, more than $ 1 million
BP has indicated its intention to cooperate with the requirements of the House committee, yet no formal response has been issued. BP has spent even more on marketing. This has all been in network TV, cable and radio advertising. That’s money that could be spent cleaning animals and finding underwater oil plumes. It is a little bit much of a “top kill” for BP to spend $ 1 million a week although it is good to do some marketing. President Obama had something to say. He said: “What I don’t want to hear is, when they’re spending that kind of money on their shareholders and on TV advertising, that they’re nickel-and-diming fishermen or small businesses here in the Gulf who are having a hard time.”
Gulf Coast region over advertised
The cities that were directly hurt with the oil spill, all in the Gulf Coast region, are shown by Media Monitor to get probably the most saturation of BP marketing. Five cities in Florida, including Miami and Fort Myers, were among the top 10 target areas for BP oil spill cleanup marketing. There are some congress members that think it is fine for BP to market. One of these is Rep. Kathy Castor. Although BP is marketing to help with its image, it is more likely to bring tourism back to Florida and the other gulf states.
Controlling the flow of details
BP’s response to critics has been to reiterate that the purpose of its marketing is to assure Americans the company plans to meet its commitments. There are two commitments that are top priority. Those are to service claims and keep cleaning up the spill. It is interesting to see that BP is watching its employees. Even the bottom line is being watched. Most companies care about the importance of the way the brand is perceived. That is why, unless Congress stops BP, marketing efforts wasting money won’t stop.
Additional reading
Telegraph
telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7969586/BP-to-admit-1m-a-week-advertising-spree.html
BP’s ad campaign – an academic perspective
youtube.com/watch?v=t1lM2gtg1gk
