The Brand Disconnect between BP and “Beyond Petroleum”

Abstract

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, three of the world’s energy giants, British Petroleum, Amoco, and ARCO, merged to become BP. Consolidating three organizations, their employees, cultures, and three brands was a major challenge. Getting the message out to the public that this was a new company with a new image was part of the marketing objective. Instead of focusing on selling retail products including gasoline, beer, soda, and snack foods, BP marketers created several new images of the company by launching “BP on the Street” and “beyond petroleum.” These new images were directly opposed to BP’s product line which was exploring and producing oil-related products.