What BP needs to do to salvage its oil-drenched image
| New York
With oil washing onto the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, BP may well be facing one of the biggest corporate crises in the nation鈥檚 history.
So, what should the oil giant do?
One expert thinks they need to take their CEO, Tony Hayward, off the air since he seems to sometimes say things he has to retract later. Another crisis manager wants to see a concrete plan 鈥� and fewer TV commercials 鈥� to help the communities affected by the oil disaster. And, yet another political crisis observer thinks the company needs to call on wise and trusted Americans to add the gravitas of, say, a Warren Buffet or a Colin Powell to the situation.
The public already has very negative perceptions of BP.
Stark poll numbers for BP
According to a Zogby Interactive poll taken between June 4 and June 7, 61 percent of those surveyed rated BP鈥檚 response to the spill as 鈥減oor.鈥� A poll earlier in the month by ABC News/Washington Post found 81 percent thought BP鈥檚 response was either poor or not so good.
BP, in an effort to better manage the crisis, has hired a Washington public relations firm, Purple Strategies. They are planning to spend $50 million on ads designed to convince Americans the company will 鈥済et it done鈥� and 鈥渕ake this right鈥� as it now says in its ads.
The BP effort is considerably different from the reaction of Exxon Corporation in 1989 after a the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground spilling 250,000 barrels of oil onto the shores of Prince William Sound.
鈥淭he differences are extraordinary,鈥� says James Lukaszewski, chairman of the Lukaszewski Group and author of several books on crisis management.
For example, the then-chairman of Exxon, Lawrence Rawl, 鈥渨as feisty and angry and took 35 days to get up to Valdez,鈥� says Mr. Lukaszewski. He says it is also his impression Exxon was reluctant to open up the remote area to the media. And, he says, the company told the US government 鈥渟tay away, we will handle it.鈥�
BP seems to have learned some lessons from Exxon Valdez, says Davia Temin, whose company, Temin Co., in New York, does crisis management.
鈥淭hey are saying all the right things,鈥� she says, but adds 鈥渢he actions ring hollow.鈥�
She says the public still does not believe Mr. Hayward yet. 鈥淗e has made gaffes, and I know when you are under pressure, it鈥檚 easy to make gaffes. I鈥檓 sure he鈥檚 going on very little sleep and BP is making this up as they go.鈥�
Damage control tips
Here are some suggestions Ms. Temin and other crisis managers suggest for the embattled oil giant:
鈥� Take Mr. Hayward off the air. Temin thinks the company should deputize someone else to speak for the company, preferably a woman.
鈥淭hey need someone who can get more in touch with your emotions,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ayward is too young and too British.鈥�
鈥� The company needs to stop shooting from the hip, says Richard Torrenzano of the Torrenzano Group in New York.
鈥淭hey need to rehearse and determine what they should say and what they should not say,鈥� says Mr. Torrenzano, who was the chief spokesman for the New York Stock Exchange during the crash of 1987.
Even more important, Torrenzano believes BP needs to show some 鈥渆mpathy鈥� to the communities being affected by the disaster. 鈥淩ight now they have to fix the problem and then have a comprehensive plan to clean up and help the communities,鈥� he says.
鈥� Bring on a high profile team to restore credibility to the company, says John Zogby, the chairman of Zogby International, the polling firm in Utica, New York.
Mr. Zogby would like to see BP form a committee made up of such people as Warren Buffet, the investment guru, Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Sen. John Ashcroft (R) of Missouri.
鈥淭hey will work with President Obama directly and in effect declare war,鈥� he says.
鈥� Mobilize the entire oil industry and obligate them to provide assistance to BP, says Lukaszewski. Once the industry is mobilized, he says they need to find the solution to shutting down the oil well and teach the US government how it should be prevented in the future.
鈥淏P needs to beg for more intervention,鈥� he says.
Related:
Gulf oil spill: Why is it so hard to stop?
BP live feed doesn't lie: Is BP oil spill plume worse than before?
