From its origins as British Petroleum, BP has been a mainstay source of oil and gas in countries throughout the world, in part due to its impressive brand rhetoric strategy.
BP enjoys a position as one of the most successful and well-known oil and gas companies in the world, with a presence in over 80 countries and a production rate of nearly 3.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. BP has encountered a few major public relations disasters, starting with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, but despite its setbacks, BP still maintains a relatively positive image in part due to its successful and well-rounded brand rhetoric.
Ethos (Authority)
BP has enjoyed a solid reputation in part to its long trustworthy history, but is always trying to build itself up as a leader in the oil and gas industry. BP’s slogan in 2001, “Beyond Petroleum,” for instance, conjures images of progressive energy initiatives, and language in their advertising has since been directed toward moving forward. This was somewhat convenient after the disastrous oil spill in 2010, allowing BP a prime opportunity to acknowledge the past and simultaneously prepare their customer base for a bright future.
Pathos (Emotion)
BP also focuses on building its reputation as a provider of change and renewable energy to the world. Some of its recent messaging focuses on the combination of creativity and technology (sound familiar?) to scale small efforts into global changes. With the negative reputation of most oil and gas companies, this favorable emotional play puts BP in a solid Pathos-driven position.
Logos (Logic)
BP uses minimal Logos in its advertising. Usually, oil and gas companies have a difficult time conveying themselves as a logical choice in an environment where most competitors are almost indistinguishably similar from a production standpoint.
Nevertheless, BP’s brand rhetoric is impressive for its consistency. The company uses similar tactics in times of success as well as times of disaster. Despite facing an overwhelming negative blowback from the oil spill and related events, BP has been able to nimbly recover and rebuild their positive image.
