More than $ 1 million a week spent by BP on marketing

America wants revenge on BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill occurred. The typical citizen wants to know that the corporate oil giant is applying its resources to repair the catastrophic damage done to jobs, tourism and the ecological balance. BP’s TV advertising is costing them $ 1 million a week, reports the London Telegraph. That may go a long way toward mending BP’s corporate image, but the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce committee is looking for more than that.

$ 1 million-plus per month for the past four months

BP has indicated its intention to cooperate with the requirements of the House committee, yet no formal response has been issued. Without a written standard, BP’s spending on network TV, cable and radio advertising could continue to skyrocket. The cleanup might need the money that could possibly be spent on better things. Instead it is just going to advertising. It is just a little bit much of a “top kill” for BP to spend $ 1 million a week although it is good to do some advertising. President Obama explained: “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 getting advertising

The Gulf Coast region, or the cities hurt by the oil spill, are getting one of the most marketing. This is shown by Media Monitor. Miami and Fort Myers were two of the five cities in Florida that came within the top 10 places BP wanted to advertise the cleanup of the oil spill. There are some congress members that think it is fine for BP to advertise. One of these is Rep. Kathy Castor. However, the marketing should help steer tourism to Florida and also the Gulf states, instead of focus on burnishing BP’s corporate image as a primary goal.

Controlling the flow of information

BP’s response to critics has been to reiterate that the purpose of its advertising is to assure Americans the business plans to meet its commitments. It is assumed that those commitments are to service claims and keep up with the cleaning effort. BP seems to be keeping an eye on the bottom line right now though. Do not expect BP to stop marketing with wasted millions unless Congress makes them stop since brand recognition and also the way it is perceived is very important to any business.

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