If the oil spill cap works, will it save BP?
July 13th, 2010 by Amy Krigman
Today BP attached a cap to the leaking well, and now everyone is holding their breath to see if the device will actually work.
If it does work, certainly this will be a huge step in this disaster, and everyone involved can move onto the next phase, which is the continued cleanup of oil in the Gulf and the beaches, not to mention all the animals affected by the oil. But of course nobody really knows how long that will take and exactly how much money it will cost.
So many people have been affected by the spill and it’s disheartening.
(For a somber look at businesses affected by the spill, check out the latest slideshow in Businessweek.)
When all is said and done, BP will of course never be viewed the same way. It will take decades to remove the stain of this disaster. I wouldn’t be surprised if they change their name to try and start fresh. But seriously, who is going to believe a word they say? Least of all the residents of the Gulf coast, whose lives are forever changed.
Not that I could really stomach working with BP, but it would certainly be a very unique client to have. Would be curious to hear from other PR people what strategies you would undertake with this company as it works to rebuild itself. What would you do?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Media Relations, News & Commentary, PR, Predictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
July 13th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Nice post, Amy. It’s hard to imagine BP saving face after this disaster. Their credibility seems to be completely destroyed. Then again – the public forgets. It will take some time for people to forget this one, but Exxon (now Exxon Mobile) is still a strong brand after the Exxon Valdez spill 21 years ago. And look at Toyota. Not as serious of a disaster, but their brand took some serious hits earlier this year and their television ad campaigns about Toyota’s record of reliability and safety are helping them recover.