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Zurich 19rd May, 2010. BP´s CSR-oriented approach to crisis communications in response to the ongoing Deepwater oil spill has done little to mitigate the image damage the disaster has caused for the company. Media Tenor´s data show that while the volume of coverage for BP has sharply increased in the wake of the explosion, BP´s image rating has moved from essentially neutral to over 75% negative. Here BP´s image is not just a victim of the disaster, but also of the low level of awareness the company had prior to the explosion.

Despite BP´s efforts over the last several years to position itself as “Beyond Petroleum,” and its specific messaging strategy in response to the crisis that has focused on specifics such as the recruitment of fishermen to help contain the slick and promises that the firm would take responsibility for the accident and its consequences, BP had no opportunity to avoid significant impact on its image. Once the government assigned responsibility for the accident to BP, public anger was always going to unavoidably follow.

Some politicians have speculated that the Deepwater spill would be “Obama´s Katrina,” but Media Tenor´s research shows that this has not been the case. Not only is the overall tone of coverage Obama has been receiving since the explosion only slightly negative, it is significantly better than the over 20% negative rating he received during the most heated part of the healthcare debate. In fact, when we compare the tone of coverage for Obama since his inauguration to the coverage that Bush received during his presidency, it is clear that Deepwater has not manifested as an image crisis for Obama and therefore will not have a comparable impact on his presidency that Katrina had on Bush´s.

There are several reasons for the lack of Deepwater´s significant impact on Obama´s image. Not only has the immediate, clear threat to human life been significantly less as compared to Katrina, the tempo of the disaster has been different. Additionally, the media´s rapid move into focusing on the corporate sphere´s role in the disaster has helped to deflect possible criticism of Obama.

In the coming weeks the image impact of the Deepwater crisis on both corporate and political figures will continue to evolve. BP may face additional reputational challenges as images of animals impacted by the oil spill make the news. Additionally, Obama and his administration may come under more scrutiny as long-range decisions have to be made regarding mitigating the disaster´s impact both on the environment and on the fishing industry in the region.

For now, the question is whether the Deepwater disaster will continue to command a high volume of coverage in the media. This is a long-term environmental situation, but whether it will be a long-term news story remains to be seen. How much coverage the spill continues to get may determine how quickly and to what degree BP will be able to repair its image.

Media Tenor International has been analyzing opinion-leading since 1994. This analysis is based on 554 reports (at least 5 lines) about BP and its management in 26 international TV news programs from seven countries and 16116 reports with US presidents Bush or Obama as main protagonist 2004-2010 .Media Tenor has evaluated more than 500 000 news stories in international TV news. Among its specialized analyses are political coverage, economic coverage, social values, technology and financial sentiment data.

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