Our Blog: where do you stand?

 As the daily dose of BP news has grown smaller, the company's campaign to tell its story has increased. I see localized examples here in St. Louis and pretty much everywhere I've been traveling.

I confess to some personal conflict about buying at BP throughout the crisis in the gulf. I haven't visited a BP station since the early days of the spill. However, if we all make this decision, will the company survive to pay claims and help those injured by the spill? There's not an easy answer to that question.

We've all seen the national ads featuring BP employees born and raised in Louisiana and their personal commitment to "make things right." It's a much smarter campaign than the company's early responses, and I so want to believe they mean what they say.

Even more compelling is the radio campaign featuring the local station/convenience store owner. You can read an example from the current campaign below, or listen here.

Hi, my name is Scott. My family and I own and operate two BP stations. As a locally owned business, we buy products from local vendors and support our community organizations. We also employ dozens of people from the area. We care about providing our customers with quality fuels and greeting them day in and day out, with smiles on our faces. It's a lot of work but we're happy to be here for you. We're grateful for your continued support and would like to thank you for your business over the years. Thanks.

This strategy interests me, both as a communications professional and a person. People ask me if this is a good campaign, and I do believe it's the right creative. The copy is good; it's positive and well-messaged. But the true key to whether or not it's a good campaign is whether BP's actions are consistent with these messages.  It would be disingenuous for the company to run a people-centric advertising campaign about "making it right" in the Gulf if they don't follow through on that promise behind the scenes. The news stories about current activities in the Gulf still create a lot of doubt about whether that's happening.

The BP ad campaign puts a human face on a company plagued by a bad image. Local convenience store owners and BP employees from the region make far more sympathetic public faces than resigned CEO Tony Hayward.  Since the spill, BP has been seen as nameless and faceless, but showcasing real people associated with the company who are being hurt by boycotts may offer conflicted consumers encouragement to buy.

So, have you bought gas at BP since the spill? Does a campaign like this affect your decision?