America wants BP to be doing anything possible to make certain it is taking care of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill it caused. There were troubles created with tourism, jobs and the ecological balance. Everybody wants to know BP is working to fix it. BP's TV advertising is costing them $ 1 million a week, reports the London Telegraph. The U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce committee thinks that BP needs to do more than work on its image.

In four months, $ 1 million and more per month

There has been no response issued by BP although it has said it will cooperate with the House committee demands. There's been more spending on netweork TV, cable and radio marketing for BP. The money is cash that could possibly be spent helping with the cleanup instead. Some advertising is necessary, but $ 1 million-plus per week may be the "top kill" of overkill. President Obama put it bluntly: "What I don't want to hear is, when they're spending that kind of money on their shareholders and on TV advertising, that they're nickel-and-diming fishermen or small businesses here in the Gulf who are having a hard time."

Gulf Coast region over advertised

Media Monitor indicates that BP's advertising reached the greatest level of saturation in the Gulf Coast region where cities were directly suffering from the oil spill. Miami and Fort Myers were two of the five cities in Florida that came within the top 10 places BP wanted to advertise the oil spill cleanup. Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, and a few others, feel like BP can advertise as much as it wants. However, the advertising should help steer tourism to Florida and the Gulf states, instead of focus on burnishing BP's corporate image as a primary goal.

Controlling info flow

BP's response to critics has been to reiterate that the purpose of its advertising is to assure Americans that the business plans to meet its commitments. The commitments are believed to be cleaning up the spill and servicing claims. It is interesting to see that BP is watching its employees. Even the bottom line is being watched. Most companies care about the importance of the way the brand is perceived. That is why, unless Congress stops BP, marketing efforts wasting money won't stop.

Further reading

Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7969586/BP-to-admit-1m-a-week-advertising-spree.html

BP's ad campaign – an academic perspective

youtube.com/watch?v=t1lM2gtg1gk