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A Gushing Oil Spill and Blathering Spokesperson

Posted by Nick Banovetz on June 14, 2010 at June 14, 2010 2:30 PM

Friday marked Jacques Cousteau's 100th birthday, perhaps a numbing affirmation of the cumulating marine travesties from BP's copious, ongoing oil spill in the Gulf. Everyone from BP CEO Tony Hayward and President Obama to you and me are at their wits' end on how to stop the leak. One can only imagine how "Captain Cousteau" would react to the reckless regard for this environment, and inability to act accordingly to a human-caused disaster. As we near the two-month mark of the spill, how effective are BP and Hayward in managing the crisis and communicating?

Hayward is providing our worldwide community mixed messages, and statements that too often contradict third-party scientists and the government. BP's smorgasbord of answers, "on the fly" attempted solutions and perplexing communications have worsened its credibility - and stock price. Last week's Newsweek looks one step further: Considering Hayward's gaffs and lack of leadership, why hasn't he been fired?

Could BP's credibility be better off today if it had practiced proactive, accurate and sound public relations? Consider some missteps:

• On May 30, among other instances, Hayward contradicted independent scientists and researchers, asserting there were no oil plumes. BP's lack of depth and breadth of the leak demonstrates to media, stakeholders and other constituencies that it doesn't have a handle on the situation. Moreover, Thursday's New York Times reported the U.S. government projects the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf is now double BP estimates.

• Shortly into the leak, Hayward communicated to a Venice, La., audience, and the Today show, "I would like my life back." Considering 11 people died in the initial explosion, BP fell short of respectful and rehearsed media training, crisis communications and messaging.

• As reported on The Daily Show on June 10, BP is buying search terms on search engines, resulting in BP-sponsored links appearing as the top results for searches on the oil spill. I give them credit for the offensive play, but also question where social media ethics interject.

• Also on June 10, BP issued the following news release: "BP is Not Aware of Any Reason for Share Price Movement." Really? What correlation do BP's substandard communications have on its plummeting stock price?

Accidents and the unknown are absolute. Take-aways from the BP oil crisis reminds us to be thorough in communications planning, including crisis communications. It's essential to be honest with stakeholders and the public, to manage one's issues and messaging, and to proactively engage appropriate audiences.

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