For this week one of the topics our book (Public Relations Srategies and Tactics) discussed was public relations during times of crisis. Many different events can occur such as accidents, terrorist attacks, disease pandemics, and natural disasters which can dwarf even the best strategic positioning and risk management strategies. The book also gives a great list of what to do during a crisis. A few good suggestions the book gives are:
- put the public first
- Take responsibility
- Be honest
- Never say “no comment”
Currently BP is going through a huge crisis with the oil spill in the gulf. One of their first responses to the situation was by having the CEO of BP make and apology nationwide and explain their progress. Check out the interview here BP CEO Interview
BP currently is making a lot of efforts to try and settle the horrible issue going on in the gulf. Many people including me do not believe they are doing a very good job at their recovery efforts. The video that Tony Hayward gave as a form of crisis communication was a good example of reaching the public but they need to do more.
One concern that has been across the news is that BP and the government are making false claims about truly how much oil is being leaked into the ocean and what exactly they are doing to make a full recovery. In the chapter on crisis management it discusses different strategies for responding to crisis’s and handling the situation after it has happened. The list the book gives are attack the accuser, denial, excuse, justification, ingration, corrective action, and a full apology. In my opinion the first step BP should have done was not make an excuse for what happened but takes the blame and give a full apology to everyone affected by the situation.
The main thing BP needs to focus on now is how to restore their image and to try and correct all the problems they have already caused. Crisis communication can be a difficult concept to achieve and I believe currently BP needs to do a better job of handling and dealing with this crisis at hand.