Challenge: The oil industry is one of the largest and most powerful. Of all big players in this market, BP has fallen out of grace within our modern culture.
Problem: Americans resent Big Oil in general, but single BP out as the worst because BP was the only company who claimed to be anything other than an oil company by positioning itself as the greenest through “Beyond Petroleum”. And when the spill happened, BP became the embodiment of all that is wrong with the industry, and has severely fallen out of favor with the American public.
Solution: We will focus on the American public/market solely because other markets (developing and underdeveloped) benefit from what BP offers to their basic level of needs. Americans only interact with BP at the pump or when an incident such a spill occurs. Our solution is to address the perception of the BP brand in the USA to ensure its future success through an underdog story.
Goal: Create loyalty in a category that naturally has none.
Strategic recommendation: For BP to own the “Safety and Exploration” space.
Reposition BP as: “BP is Fueling Change”.
Result:
Phase 1: Fueling change internally.
(a) Organize internal workshops to align the team on the following brand pillars: Pioneering, Courageous, Disciplined and Committed to humanity.
(b) BP Think Tank: launched to rethink and reestablish industry standards for a better tomorrow. Mission: Innovate to inspire change.
(c) Open Letters to America: gives each BP employee a chance to directly appologize to Amercia and turn them into brand stewards
Phase 2: Fueling change externally.
(a) Take Open Letters to America and make them available to the American public which allows us to humanize the brand.
(b) Lessons Learned Campaign: with recpetivity and interest gained from our public we will then launch this campaign to show that BP has learned from its mistakes the hard way and is now ready to move forward.
(c) Transparency at the pump: Educate consumers about where their oil prices are coming from to create a more transparent interaction with the brand. It would also explain how their money is spent and about their carbon foot print.
(d) Fueling the future: money collected at the pump on the spill’s anniversary will be invested into micro financing. When the money is paid back to BP, it reinvests it in alternative energy.
Fueling economic change and fueling environmental change.
Phase 3: Fueling change industry wide.
(a) First Annual Fueling Change Conference: to give a hollistic approach for tomorrow’s World.
(b) Safe Energy Practice certification: an overarching organization that acts as an industry watchdog. A symbol for best practices in the industry. A launching pad to making the industry safer and more responsible.
Conclusion:
BP becomes a though leader but also a thoughful one. A company that learns from its mistakes, that offers a heartfelt apology and asks for forgiveness. A company willing to educate us about our consumption and their business practices. A company that is aspiring strickter, more responsible consistent practices for the entire industry. And a company that is doing everything in its power to give us hope for the future. This company is BP. The future starts today.
