BP Oil Spill – April 2010

Crisis Communication and Social Media

- A Simulation Game Learning Experience

ISUP 2013 – CBS

Midterm assignment

Table of contentsThe following presentation is a midterm assignment that will be based upon a Crisis Simulation Game. This presentation represents BP’s point of view.

• Part 1• Part 2 • Part 3• Part 4• References• Authors

Part 1

Will provide a short account of the events of the crisis and a situation analysis including the

respond strategies implemented by BP.

Deepwater Horizon accident

20 April 2010: an explosion and a fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico.

11 people died and more people were injured.

Could the crisis have been prevented?

• BP had celebrated 7 years of safety previous to the crisis• Safety problems were spotted and reported to the

headquarters • BP had decided not to upgrade the safety

due to its cost savings

Due to these actions BP moved away from its dominant identity and value (safety) towards a focus on profit maximization.

The crisis might have been prevented if the company had continued to focus on safety and had implemented an effective crisis communication plan.

Effective crisis communication• Establish a crisis communication team (a core team and functional

groups)• Determine goal for crisis communication• Media training to crisis communication team• Develop true equal partnership with stakeholders (see next page)• Acknowledge stakeholders as partners• Listen to stakeholders• Communicate early about the crisis and acknowledge uncertainty• Avoid certain or absolute answers until sufficient information is

available• Do not overreassure stakeholders about the impact of the crisis• Make statements that is useful to the public• Acknowledge the positive outcomes of a crisis

BP’s Stake- holders

Timeline of challenges

Reputation BP did not respond effectively to the crisis which

had a bad influence on its reputation. Today, the company is still fighting to gain trust and credibility.

You know, I’d like my life back

Effective leadership• Leaders should be visible during a crisis• Leaders should work to develop a positive company

reputation during normal times to build the halo-effect• Leaders should be open and honest following a crisis• Poor leadership includes denials, cover-ups, or

lack of response, which may worsen the crisis

Respond Strategies

Coomb’s crisis response strategies

• Non-existence strategies (denial)

• Distance strategies (denial of intention)

• Mortification (remediation and rectification)

Benoit’s image restoration strategy

• Denial (simple and shifting denial)

• Reducing the offensiveness of the event (compensation)

• Corrective action

Part 2 The second part will focus upon the Crisis

Simulation Game and the questions and answers that were prepared for the in-class

interview will be included.

PreparationSteps to follow before being interviewed:• Get all the facts about the incident in question• Determine key messages and fully develop them• Decide upon a spokesperson• Anticipate likely questions and company responses• Practice your interview• Always be truthful in your responses• Never say ‘no comment’

Key messagesThe following key messages was to be communicated

during the interview:• Our values: safety, respect, excellence,

courage and one team• We have learned from this

crisis• We take responsibility • We have increased safety• We are open in our

communication

Q&A’s Q: What did you do to restore the environment?

A: We have worked with state and federal agencies to access and restore natural recourses and we have funded different restoration projects.

Q: What have you done with regards

to renewable energy?

A: We develop and invest in alternative

energy, such as biofuels and wind energy.

Q: How will you prevent a similar crisis from

reoccurring?

A: We will not compromise our core value of safety.

Answers when responding to less prepared questions:

• Focus on key messages• Seek clarity and ask for elaboration• Admit it when you are unable to respond

– investigate and answer when ready to do so

Questions as journalists

The white house • Do you think there are enough regulations?• Have you been inspired by other nations who corporate with oil companies?BBC • What is your specific role?• Do you think you experienced the crisis from an objective point of view? • When do you think the crisis will be over? Greenpeace• Have you used the crisis as an advantage?

The local community: • What do you think BP should have done in the beginning? • What would you like them to do in the future? • What could you have done better? • Were you prepared for any crisis? • What can BP do to make it up to you? Sierra Club • Have you become more visible after the crisis occurred? • When do you think the world is ready to become green?  

Probing

During the media training session, we tried to “push” the stakeholders in order to give us satisfactory and honest answers, with the use of probing questions.

Part 3The first page of part 3 is an illustration of our

engagement with BP on the social media platforms, though we did not receive any

feedback from BP.

Moreover, the strategies on Facebook will be discussed.

BP and Social Media• Three strategies on Facebook

1. Feedback to positive comments

2. Answer some negative comments by linking to further information online

3. Ignore some of the negative comments• BP frame themselves positively on Facebook and encourage

employees to comment on posts. BP thereby represents a human face.

Key focus on BP’s Facebook page

• Goodwill • Positive image and reputation• Rebuild trust and credibility• Caring about the individual• Committed to safety • Caring for the environment• Committed to the Gulf• Making personal stories

Guidelines for social media• Listen and monitor• Carefully consider branding and representation• Help your employees help themselves• Participate! Do not dictate• Be prepared for feedback• Expect the unpredictable • Know the risk• Plan, integrate and measure• Embrace opportunity

Part 4The last part of this assignment will include our

learning outcomes of this course and recommendations for BP in the future.

Learning outcomes

• The company’s first act is crucial for the development of the crisis

• One must be prepared for the unexpected• It is important to be proactive and have an effective

communication plan• One must not underestimate the impact of critical issues• The prepared questions are not always the questions

being asked• Practice makes perfect• There might be positive outcomes of crises• One must learn from other companies’ crises

BP must treat the failure as an opportunity to recognize a potential crisis or to prevent a similar crisis in the future.

• Organizations are better able to generate productive crisis responses if they are willing to accept responsibility for any actions they may have taken to cause the crisis

• Organizations are better prepared to avoid or manage crises if they have identified, discussed and instituted core values

• Organizations that are open and honest are better prepared to manage and recover from the events

BP in the future

ReferencesAnthonissen, P. (2008) Crisis Communication: Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival. Kogan Page

Doorley, J. and Garcia, H. (2011) Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Public Relations and Corporate Communication. Routledge

Umer, R., Sellnow, T., and Seeger, M. (2010) Effective Crisis Communication: Moving from Crisis to Opportunity. Sage Publications

White, C. (2011) Social Media, Crisis Communication and Emergency Management: Leveraging Web 2.0 Technologies. CRC Press

Smith, D. and Elliott, D. 2006. Crisis Management. Systems and Structures for Prevention and Recovery. Routledge.

www.bp.com

https://www.facebook.com/BPAmerica?fref=ts

Authors

Anna Cecilie Holten Jakobsen (@AnnaCecilieH) Bachelor in English and Organizational communicationMarketing Assistant, CA a-kasse

Camilla Schnoor Christiansen (@Camillaschnoor) Bachelor in English and Organizational communicationStudent Assistant, Plante Oasen

Cathrine Jermiin (@Catjermiin) Bachelor in English and Organizational communicationStudent Assistent, Nykredit

Instructor: Betty Tsakarestou (@Tsakarestou)Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Media and Culture at Panteion University, Greece

Course Coordinator: Patricia Plackett, Department of Operations Management at CBSFor further details see: http://www.cbs.dk/ and https://twitter.com/CBSStudents