There are roughly 10,000 BP gas stations in the United States and nearly all of them are independently owned. What does this mean? It means if you drive by a BP gas station because you’ve decided the oil spill has had an adverse affect on your gas-buying decision, you are really only hurting a small business owner by driving to a different gas station. The Wall Street Journal had an interesting piece on BP gas stations dealing with this issue. So what kind of gas station marketing should BP owners employ?
Because of this, BP gas station owners are turning towards marketing to help commuters better understand that their money isn’t going towards the large oil company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Gas station marketing has always been a strategy filled with opportunity because there are so many independently owned units.
Some BP gas station owners have started Facebook and Twitter pages to post pictures of their gas station as well as information that educates consumers on where the money goes. BP station owners have also launched guerrilla marketing campaigns by having friendly faces and people in costumes out on the streets in front of their station holding “independently owned” signs and placards. And finally, BP station owners in Florida are encouraging members of the BP Amoco Marketers Association to stop by stores so they can chat one on one with customers and offer promotional flyers with information.
What kind of gas station marketing have you seen by BP owners?
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I can think of no greater marketing challenge at the moment. BP is going to have to connect on a human level with their audience. Facebook and Twitter is a great start.