If I Was Running BP's Public Relations

There is all sorts of tried and true PR tactics you can use during a crisis situation and one of the best is keeping the public buried in the details of the process versus the impacts.

The first step is to give the process an impressive sounding name that looks good in headlines. I would suggest something beginning with the word "Operation," followed by an overly aggressive phrase like "top kill" or "junk shot."

Once you think up some good names, you can then start to roll out impressive looking processes (with fancy graphics) and claim that they are going to take care of the problem.

At this point do whatever is necessary to draw attention away from the actual impacts of the crisis.

Next, ensure that these processes sound very technical in nature, using words like "complex" and "cutting edge" and "scientific." Try phrases like "these efforts are being carried out in conjunction with industry experts and governmental authorities" and "this is very complex - and involves several complex procedures coming together."

While the public may not know exactly what all this jargon means it really does sound like everything is under control - it make you look like you know what the heck you are doing.

The final step is to introduce lots of acronyms like "BOP choke" and "the BOP's LMRP" and "response to the MC252 oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico."

All this has the effect of diverting the story away from the real effects of the disaster that you do not want the media to be reporting and the public to be watching.

This tactic will avoid (hopefully) headlines like, "Thousands of Tiny Dead Fish Washing up on Oil Contaminated Beach" or "The Gulf's silent environmental crisis" or "Gulf Oil Spill: 22-Mile Underwater Plume Approaches Rich Waters, Could Poison Food Chain."

Don't get me wrong here, I'm as addicted as the next person when it comes to watching live underwater oil spill cams to see if BP is successful with their one-two "top kill-junk shot" operation, but it's easy to get sucked into the spin. And have no illusion that in the "situation room" for this devastating oil spill there is as many scientists and engineers as there are spindoctors.

 

Follow Kevin Grandia on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kgrandia

Comments

[Hokey Pokey]

10:49 PM on 05/29/2010

You can fool some of the fish all of the time, and all of the fish, some of the time. But only PR people would expect to fool Mother Nature, ever.

[JBBishop]

03:08 PM on 05/29/2010

If I were running BP's PR - I'd encourage them figure out how to stop the flow, clean up the spill, institute new safety policies and precautions in all their other operations, and found a blue ribbon research panel on safe drilling operations... Real PR advice is more than words - it's making sure the walk is right before talking the talk. Too bad so many bosses hire for what you have laid out!!! Clever - but sad for conscientious PR folks.

[WarriorLemming]

01:45 PM on 05/29/2010

Where are all the genius' that can figure out how to stop this then it acquired to me that the genius' have all figure out that there is no solution so why step forward and look stupid trying this-and-that. A headache and nausea reading this article everything looks grim, indeed.

[ziggypop]

12:34 PM on 05/29/2010

"Were" not "was."

[comment from grandpa]

07:17 AM on 05/29/2010

I believe it is "if it were",and "there are as many".

[seawolf77]

06:31 AM on 05/29/2010

Declare BP's dividends for the next 2 quarters gone to clean up the spill and save the company. Shareholders would applaud him, the world may declare him the antichrist but he also caps the top end at around 12 billion US dollars.

[kamachanda]

08:34 AM on 05/29/2010

Nobody is going to clean this mess up with 12 billion dollars.

[WarriorLemming]

01:46 PM on 05/29/2010

Exactly and sadly maybe no amount of money will do the trick.