With the oil-rig explosion and subsequent oil spill, BP is facing nightmare scenarios in the Gulf, on Wall Street and on Main Street. Unimaginable amounts of its oil is soiling the Gulf, killing off wildlife and a way of life…BP’s stock price is experiencing a double-digit percentage drop….and its reputation is sliding further into the gutter every minute the spill is broadcast live over the Internet.
The spill’s damage is obviously not just environmental – BP’s continuous failures to cap the leak, combined with communications missteps by its executives (Its CEO said just two days ago he “wants his life back.” Well, so do the fisherman and pelicans.) and barring reporters from some areas effected by the spill have made its reputation even more toxic. Most reputation-management experts agree that the full-page ads the company has been running in newspapers like the New York Times and USA Today will not be effective in stemming the tide of bad PR until the leak is plugged.
Cindy Harris
