BP station owners have reported sales declines up to 40 percent since the Gulf spill, and BP has done right by offering them cash, reductions in credit card fees and help with national advertising. Now there’s a push among BP station owners across the U.S., understandably anxious about long-term damage to the BP name, to rebrand as Amoco (the American oil company BP bought in 1998).
Proponents of the change praise Amoco as a well-known name with a great reputation. Others feel a rebrand is a big risk, given all the marketing dollars already spent creating the BP brand, and that a successful turnaround with the existing brand will have a larger impact. In my opinion, a name change isn’t needed—look at Tylenol and Exxon, which both survived PR nightmares and came out fine in the end.
Strong investment in the brand is the best way to strengthen BP long term—it would take a significantly larger investment to create familiarity and trust in a new brand. BP was a name consumers once trusted, and they want to again—and can, if the BP is managed properly. This means standing behind the brand and making decisions that demonstrate responsibility—donating a portion of gasoline sales to ongoing cleanup efforts, etc.
Photo Credit: p.Gordon
