The objective of this report is to measure the results of BP's PR activities using 10 media clippings (shown in the Appendix). Analysis of Media Coverage is the oldest and most traditional method by which to measure the results of Public Relations activities. Clippings can show the audience’s potential exposure to a message. Introduction BP p. l. c.
(BP) is a global gas and oil organisation. BP uses its products in more than eighty countries, offering its customers retail services and petrochemicals products, fuel for transportation, as well as energy for heat and light.The organisation operates two segments: Refining and Marketing as well as Exploration and Production. Production and Exploration's activities involve field development and production as well as oil and natural gas exploration; storage and processing, midstream transportation; and the trading and marketing of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, along with natural gas liquids and power (Nytimes. com, 2011).Refining and Marketing's activities involve refining, manufacturing, supplying and trading, and the marketing and transportation of crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products as well as other linked services.
During April 2011, BP bought an 83% stake of Companhia Nacional de Acucar e Alcool. During the year ending December 31, 2010, BP bought out Verenium's lignocellulosic biofuels business (Ibid). “BP is a London-based oil giant that branded itself as “Beyond Petroleum,” an environmentally conscious energy company.But its image and its financial prospects were decisively revised by the mammoth oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig BP was leasing.
Eleven workers died. The leak in a pipe a mile deep spewed out what the United States government eventually estimated to be nearly five million barrels of oil, making it the largest accidental spill in history” (Nytimes. com, 2011).“Since the tragic accident in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has made significant structural changes to the way it runs its upstream business.
Perhaps the largest of these is the creation of the global wells organisation – designed to deliver safe and compliant wells across BP” (BP. com, 2011). “BP launched their 2012 Olympics sponsorship advertising campaign in July 2011, just over one year after the 87-day oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.The re-seduction of public opinion began in televisions, high streets and roadsides across the country. Since the Deepwater Horizon tragedy the BP clean-up has taken place in two dimensions: the seabed, fragile coastal ecology, habitats and livelihoods of the Gulf; and that of its shamed image, justly sullied by a catastrophe caused by its own negligent, cost-cutting behaviour. The opportunity to be seen as a good corporate citizen through its sponsorship of the Olympics is magnificent timing from BP's perspective” (Redpepper.
org.uk, 2011). “In the United States, Congress established the Section 1703 and 1705 loan guarantee programs as well as the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program — all of which provide support to cutting-edge clean energy industries that involve technology and market risks. In doing so, Congress appropriated nearly $10 billion to cover potential losses in our total loan portfolio, thereby acknowledging and ensuring that the inherent risks of funding new and innovative technologies were recognized and accounted for in the budget.We appreciate the support the loan programs have received from many members of Congress — including nearly 500 letters to the Department — who have urged us to accelerate our efforts and to fund worthy projects in their states” (Cleantechnica. com, 2011).
Before they are placed on the market, our products are assessed, to identify any health, safety or environmental issues and to manage compliance with product safety legislation in intended markets.Our product safety assessment starts with a review of the raw materials used to manufacture or formulate products; in 2010 we assessed 1,023 raw materials for use in our lubricant products. During the safety assessment of products and raw materials, we consider both published and unpublished information to reach conclusions on potential health, safety and environmental hazards. The assessment also considers the potential for health or environmental impacts across the whole product lifecycle from product development through manufacturing, distribution, industrial or consumer use to eventual recovery or disposal.This evaluation identifies health, safety and environmental risks, for which additional risk management measures may be needed.
Information on hazards and risks, as well as safe handling advice, is communicated to product users via material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and container labelling. MSDSs need to comply with the complex and differing legislative requirements that apply in the markets around the world in which we operate” (BP, 2011).
