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Midterm
1. BP Oil Spill – April 2010
Crisis Communication and Social Media
- A Simulation Game Learning Experience
ISUP 2013 – CBS
Midterm assignment
2. Table of contents
The 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
3. Part 1
Will provide a short account of the events of the
crisis and a situation analysis including the
respond strategies implemented by BP.
4. 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.
5. Could the crisis have beenprevented?
• 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.
6. Effectivecrisiscommunication
• Establish a crisis communication team (a core team and functional
groups)
• Determine goal for crisis communication
• Media training to crisiscommunication 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
8. Timeline of challenges
Before the
crisis: respond
to warning
signals, safety
regulations, cos
t saving.
During the
crisis: stop the
oil
leak, communic
ate with
stakeholders, a
nd gain trust.
After the crisis:
regain reputation
and trust, re-
establishment of
the tourism and
the fishing
industry, and
clean up.
9. 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.
Youknow, I
’dlikemylife
back
10. 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
11. 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
12. 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.
13. Preparation
Steps 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‟
14. Keymessages
The 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
15. 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.
16. 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
17. 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?
18. 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.
19. Part 3
The 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.
20.
21. 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. BPthereby represents a
human face.
22. KeyfocusonBP‟sFacebook 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
23. 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
24. Part 4
The last part of this assignment will include our
learning outcomes of this course and
recommendations for BP in the future.
25. Learningoutcomes
• 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
26. 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
27. References
Anthonissen, 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
28. Authors
Anna CecilieHoltenJakobsen (@AnnaCecilieH)
Bachelor in English and Organizational communication
Marketing Assistant, CA a-kasse
Camilla Schnoor Christiansen (@Camillaschnoor)
Bachelor in English and Organizational communication
Student Assistant, PlanteOasen
CathrineJermiin (@Catjermiin)
Bachelor in English and Organizational communication
Student 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 CBS
For further details see: http://www.cbs.dk/
and https://twitter.com/CBSStudents