BP

Project

BP is of one of the world’s largest energy companies with operations in more than 100 countries across six continents. The company’s main businesses are exploration and production of oil and gas; refining, manufacturing and marketing of oil products and petrochemicals; transportation and marketing of natural gas; and a growing business in renewable, low-carbon and alternative energies.

BP has been operating in China since the early 1970s, investing more than $4.6 billion in commercial projects to date. Its activities in China include the production and importation of natural gas, supply of aviation fuel, import and marketing of LPG, fuels retailing, lubricants blending and sales, petrochemical manufacturing and solar electric facilities. As one of China’s largest foreign investors, BP has 27 joint ventures and wholly owned companies and about 4,000 staff.

Objectives

RFA has been working with BP on a retainer basis since 2004. In order to create a favorable environment for progressing BP’s business development in China, Ruder Finn China devised a media communication campaign to leverage BP’s socio-economic activities, both globally and locally, as well as key China events, for example launch of the Chinese version of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.  The specific aim of the campaign was to strengthen BP’s brand awareness and to enhance BP’s reputation as a responsible investor in China. The media campaign focused on communicating powerful and defined key messages to effectively reach Chinese opinion leaders and opinion formers whom have been identified as key audiences for BP in China.

In 2007, Ruder Finn successfully designed and executed the first online web cast of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, an annual energy publication that consolidates and analyzes all publicly available energy data. With deep understanding of Chinese media and the nature of energy industry, Ruder Finn proposed using the official People’s Daily Online, the only portal accessible to officials at Zhong Nan Hai, headquarters of the top Chinese government leadership, to host the BP Statistical Review of World Energy web cast. The launch event turned out to be lively and interactive as well as cost-effective and has strategically helped to make the BP Review a key information source for Chinese government officials, industry analysts and the media, thereby enhancing BP’s reputation as a leading global player in Chinese energy market. Live broadcast generated 70,000 hits on the event day and pageview of the web cast reached 180,000 in just three days after the launch.

Ruder Finn China also worked closely with the BP China communications team on a number of CSR projects which have successfully helped to further promote the corporate image of BP both within the company and the local community in which BP operates. In 2008, BP China became the only foreign company in China that has won the prestigious China Best Corporate Citizenship Award, organized by leading business publication 21st Century Business Herald, for five consecutive years.

http://www.bp.com