All associated with the BP oil spill are acting incomprehensibly
From a communication perspective, it’s impossible to make sense of what is taking place with the BP oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico.
The BBC describes the issue as a ‘PR disaster’ for BP while international financial analysts talk about it undermining the competitive advantage of the world’s 5th largest company ‘into the foreseeable future’.
It’s inconceivable that BP is not employing the best PR professionals in the business, so why on a daily basis are they staggering from one communications blunder to another? Why is there no belief BP has answers? Why the apparent indifference to its corporate reputation?
For all his ‘tough talk’, President Obama is struggling. Political commentators from the left, middle and right are calling his performance inadequate and lacking leadership.
Even American media is questioning why the American administration is not putting its national resources into working alongside BP to minimise the damage being done to people’s lives and the environment; why an administration that poured unlimited money into the American banking system during the financial meltdown is now insisting that it’s ‘BP’s problem to fix’.
Perhaps it’s all about money. Remember, while Exxon was ordered to pay billions in compensation for the Exxon Valdez spill, American courts eventually capped the payout to $500,000 because ‘it was an accident’.
Could it be that BP is gaming the US administration, with the lawyers running a strategy based around taking the heat on corporate reputation in the short term while preparing for the inevitable 15 to 20 years of litigation in the American courts as claimants try to get their hands on the $20 billion in the compensation fund.
Given BP’s actions to date, it certainly hard to believe it’s the communications people that are in charge of strategy.
As for President Obama, he may well be the ultimate loser if this adds to the belief that he is a talker rather than doer.
Postscript. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is not the world’s largest – not yet anyway. That dubious honour is vied for by the 1910 Lakeview Gusher (USA) and the 1991 Gulf War. To take the number one spot the BP spill needs to eclipse 9 to 11 billion barrels.
Tags: BBC, BP, Communication, Crisis Communications, Gulf of Mexico, Obama, Oil Spill, PR disaster