For 14 years, I worked in the oil industry, primarily with Texaco and Citgo, and developed some solid sources within the industry with whom I still have contact.
My sources tell me that we can expect the BP ground game to go to a new level along the Gulf Coast as the mega-corporation enlists its marketers (the locally-owned companies that either supply or own the BP stations along the Gulf Coast) to battle a negative publicity from the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster.
BP plans to increase its presence in the community (more BP Barbies?) “so we can spend more time with you locally, either in home office or at site.” They want the marketers to buy ads, distribute flyers at their stations, hold customer appreciation days and use BP –supplied talking points to build a word-of-mouth campaign to “diffuse or deflect negative commentary†about the BP oil spill…..which I guess means counter me.
The ads will say “BP is doing everything in our power to stop the flow of oil, minimize
the impact and keep the public informed.â€â€¦.of course, the ads won’t be running in my paper.
BP says it will pay 100 percent of the costs of the approved ads, flyers and postcards that are printed and distributed by the marketers. Normally, BP pays only half of a marketer’s advertising costs through co-op incentive programs.
BP will continue its attempts to create an emotional hook and convince people the company really cares. The materials will include phone numbers for people who want to join in the cleanup, or who see “injured or oiled animals.”
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Note: There is buzz that a BP boycott movement is organizing—which will mess up the BP Barbies’ weekend shopping in Malbis.