Should BP rebrand itself?
BP has lots of self-inflicted wounds from the Gulf oil disaster.
As it tries to repair its tarnished reputation, should it change the name of its gas stations?
Associated Press is reporting that BP station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name.
Some who have seen their sales plunge say BP has already sought a fresh start by naming an American to replace its gaffe-prone British CEO, AP writes. So why not change the name on gas stations marquees as a further symbol of that culture shift?
Others worry that a name change is a big deal that is risky given all the marketing dollars already spent building up the BP brand. They also believe a successful turnaround with the existing brand will have a bigger payoff, AP reports.
What do you think? Should BP try to get a fresh start with a new name? Will it do any good? Will it make any difference to you?
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104 comments Add your comment
steve
July 30th, 2010
8:29 am
First?!?
Dee
July 30th, 2010
8:56 am
Let them change the name to AMOCO. All that will do is stop me from buying either brand. And it is the “chicken way out”.
Realist
July 30th, 2010
9:15 am
Yes, I’ll buy their gas. I won’t punish everyone in the food chain for the mistakes of the behemoth. In the long run, BP makes more money refinining than at the pump.
Neal Kelley
July 30th, 2010
9:16 am
does changing the name clean up the gulf????? To me it does not matter if it is BP, AMOCO, or pink elephant. I still wont buy there gas!!!!
Chicken Farmer
July 30th, 2010
9:20 am
How about going back to the name they were before BP bought them out here in the South. Yep they bought out all the old GULF stations. What an anomoly!
Shambolee
July 30th, 2010
9:22 am
Of course I’d buy their gas….why would anyone want to harm local small business people who own and operate these stations?
not fooled that easily
July 30th, 2010
9:25 am
It wouldn’t matter what they change their name to. I liked to think most people just aren’t fooled that easily. I already boycott Citgo (owned Venezualan dictator/nutcase Chavez). Guess I’ll add one more to the list. Soon I’ll be walking.
erickser
July 30th, 2010
9:25 am
Why in the world would we stop buying BP gas. All that does is put our neighbors in our community out of work, and really doesn’t do much harm to the behemoth BP. In this time of high unemployment, why would we put more people out of work.
Even along the gulf coast, the people are screaming about the moratorium on new drilling that President Obama imposed, because it means they can’t go back to work.
Anybody that would boycott BP at this point just does not have a good view of the big picture in this world. Geesh!
.
July 30th, 2010
9:26 am
So now we are going to change millions of gigantic plastic signs out, and send all those out to the landfills? Spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more to change out stickers, posters, mailings, postcards, road signs, billboards, trash cans, shelf labels, etc., etc., etc…Do you know how much money this would cost, and how much trash it would produce? Just open a new landfill for all the crap that said ‘BP’ on it. My gosh, how wasteful.
SKB
July 30th, 2010
9:31 am
The disaster is NOT BP’s fault.. its the people working on the oil rig.
Dee
July 30th, 2010
9:34 am
“why would anyone want to harm local small business people who own and operate these stations?” I wouldn’t want to hurt local small businesses — so let them change their affiliations. I’m just as adamant about not helping BP.
TrafficHeadache
July 30th, 2010
9:37 am
I’d only buy gas at an Amoco if the price was right. And in contrast to, say the Racetrac across the street from BP near where I live, it isn’t.
the real Old Gold
July 30th, 2010
9:38 am
I’ll buy Amoco gas again when it’s “crystal clear” Amoco ultimate like it used to be. They even had glass bubbles on the pump handle to see the color and quality of the gasoline. When BP took over it was dirty as the Mississippi. The Amoco brand was a trusted American classic. BP ruined it.
Kiss It Make It Better
July 30th, 2010
9:38 am
Oh, yeah – changing the wording makes everything OK: when global warming couldn’t be proven, they changed it to “climate change”; when fetal stem-cell research showed less promise than adult stem-cell research, they now just call it “stem-cell research”; when voters rebelled against liberal b-lls–t, they rebranded themselves “progressives”. When nobody purchases BP gas they’ll just call it “Amoco” and everything will be alright.
erickser
July 30th, 2010
9:42 am
“I wouldn’t want to hurt local small businesses — so let them change their affiliations. I’m just as adamant about not helping BP.”
I can’t tell you how much it would cost that local small business to change it’s affiliation, but I would venture that it wouldn’t be cheap. And in the meantime, your boycotting them, so they have less money to do so even it they wanted to.
The Dogfighter Returns
July 30th, 2010
9:43 am
why? as long as there is a market for oil they don’t care. most of the stations are independently owned.
Americans have a short memory have we stopped doing business with Saudi Arabia or communist China
Alex
July 30th, 2010
9:45 am
I never bought gas at BP since their gas is sometimes 7 to 10 cents more expensive than QuickTrip or RaceTrac. I won’t punish the local gas station owners, i just don’t fill up at BP, because it’s too expensive.
Tired of BS
July 30th, 2010
9:49 am
I will continue to buy gas wherever the hell I want. BP does not need to change it’s name.
Chuck Parker
July 30th, 2010
9:50 am
Of course I’ll buy their gas. The owners and employees of the franchises had nothing to do with the spill. If Big Bad BP isn’t able to sell gas here because of a boycott, they will just sell it elsewhere in the world and still make a profit… so why beat up fellow Americans for something they surely didn’t want to happen? That’s just another typical liberal knee-jerk reaction of punishing someone not involved with a problem.
Besides, I know lots of liberals in my line of work. Every single one of them is still burning gas like crazy, going to rallies and concerts and vacations. I’ll listen to an “environmentalist” liberal when that liberal no longer burns a single drop of fossil fuel for anything other than going straight to and from work. No more driving or flying hundreds of miles to attend ’save the planet’ rallies, or look at wilderness areas, or watch giant energy-wasting concerts put on by rich liberal entertainers… you get the idea.
In short… no, I won’t boycott BP because the libs screaming for a boycott are (typical) hypocrites.
Suckers
July 30th, 2010
9:51 am
I don’t buy gas period- my Delorean has a Mr. Fusion power generator.
TnGelding
July 30th, 2010
9:53 am
They’re saying now they can’t find any oil to clean up. It will pass. No need to change names, just improve service and continue to offer a good product. Maybe increase the rebates by a percent or two, too.
Gen Neyland
July 30th, 2010
9:54 am
To stop buying BP fuel is akin to marching lock-step with those that hear a different drummer. Yes, there was a problem. Yes, it is being addressed. A tragic one but I’ll not forego a proven product that helped me put 250,000 miles on a Plymouth Grand Caravan that should have been on blocks before it reached 100,000 miles. BTW, the original fuel injectors rode off and cranked the van for loading when I donated this vehicle to the Lung Association. Spill or no spill, I’ll fill ‘er up with BP or Amoco. No problem here.
Get involved with a real toxin that is destroying our nation, people. Public education is one. Washington DC in it’s current form is another…
Chris
July 30th, 2010
9:55 am
For all those people saying they won’t buy gas from BP, you are idiots. Every gas station across the country has BP gasoline. It all gets mixed together whether it is from Chevron, Anadarko, Exxon, etc. Where do you think RaceTrac and QuickTrip are getting their gas from? They certainly aren’t drilling holes in the ocean themselves.
Evelyn
July 30th, 2010
10:09 am
My husband and I usually get our gas from The Varisty.
bushwacker
July 30th, 2010
10:18 am
I will definitely but gas from BP\AMOCO.
WHY?
Because for the next seevral months BP CANNOT RAISE GAS PRICES, otherwise the people will scream, “WE ARE BEING FORCED TO PAY FOR THE CLEANUP”.
Finally colusion among the oil companies is biting them in the ass, because if BP does not raise their prices, niether can the other oil companies, it does not matter what the price of a barrell goes to.
Coincidentally NOT, have you noticed the price of a barrel has not changed much!
This should be proof positive of the collusion and their shoud be an investigation and a class action lawsuit with billions returned to the consumer for being gouged.
Of course that will never happen with this bail out the big companies mentality of thie administration.
So enjoy the cheap gas, its here for a while!!!
Richard
July 30th, 2010
10:24 am
What’s the point? Did Exxon change it’s name after Valdez?
BigGAdawg
July 30th, 2010
10:24 am
If you don’t buy gas from BP/AMOCO or whatever name they use, they won’t have the money to continue the cleanup and compensate those who were truly harmed by this mess.
If you want someone to boycott make that CITGO since every drop of gasoline they pump is from Venezuela and supports the Socialist Dictator Hugo Chavez. In his time in office he has bought a Kalashnikov factory from the Russians, war ships, made alliances with Russia and Iran and has his eye on control of other South American Countries.
Now there is a smart boycott.
Garth
July 30th, 2010
10:32 am
I like peaches, onion rings, and pretty hair.
Peter
July 30th, 2010
10:34 am
Hello, I’ll buy gas anywhere if it’s cheap: Amoco, BP, Exxon. Except I won’t buy gas from Citgo, that idiot Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela company.
aw
July 30th, 2010
10:36 am
Did it ever occur to any of you that QT Costco and Kroger buy their gas from BP at times? If you’re going to boycott BP then just quit buying gas, oil, plastic products.
BP buyer ALL the time
July 30th, 2010
10:38 am
I bought ALL the time from AMOCO and have bought ALL the time during this BP disaster. I plan to STILL buy WHATEVER name it is! I NEVER buy Hugo Chavez’s CITGO either!!
Ramzad
July 30th, 2010
10:46 am
It does not matter what they call themself. I will never, never buy gas from them again. never.
Dayrunner
July 30th, 2010
10:47 am
If you continue to shop at BP b/c you think it only hurts the store owners is like buying a lepard fur coat – the store owner didn’t shoot the lepard, why punish them?
BP gas stations sell BP gas. Yes others also sell BP gas but one surefire way to make sure you are buying bp gas – and giving money to BP is to go to a BP station. The station owners only make a slim profit margin on the gas – the rest of the profits go to BP.
Also – the station owners don’t get to use that BP logo for free… they pay BP ~$70,000 to use the logo. That’s money straight to BP.
Why would BP have branded stations if they don’t make money off of them? Looking at their annual report – they make about 10% of their income off of these stations. Boycotting will have an impact.
WitchHazel
July 30th, 2010
10:55 am
So many of you will not or stop buying BP gas and let the small business owner whom had nothing to do with this disaster along with contract workers and other employees that are connected to BP suffer and eventually lose their jobs? We need to improve our educational system!!!!! Let me EXPLAIN SOMETHING. Tony Hayward is gone, a new job in Russia making millions like CEO do. BP has found new investors so the corporation will be ok. The only people you are hurting is the people you see everyday, you will NEVER HURT THE CORPORATE EXECUTIVES, NEVER WITH A BOYCOTT!!!
BP is tooooooooooo big a corporation.
Rob
July 30th, 2010
10:57 am
I never buy BP/AMOCO GAS not only is it more expensive everything in the store is high and
their employees are rude as hell
hello. there idiot
July 30th, 2010
11:01 am
Someone needs to pay the $18M severence package the last CEO is getting. He has a yacht race off the Isle of Wight coming up.
SirReal
July 30th, 2010
11:02 am
ALL these stations are owned by the Elite at the end of the day. Man, what happened to the good ol days when Standard Oil was around? Wait! it still is….just under about 5 different names now. A name change doesnt change the product. People, you’re gonna buy gas b/c this society has been constructed to depend on it. They are all the same at the end of the day…
aw
July 30th, 2010
11:03 am
Amtrak has crashed trains, Delta has crashed planes. Purdue chicken has put out bad food. Why don’t all you idiots boycott everyone who has had a disaster.
Alee
July 30th, 2010
11:05 am
Enter your comments here
hello. there idiot
July 30th, 2010
11:05 am
Americas oil dependence is just a tax on us from the US government and Arabs like Osama bin Laden’s family.
Kevin
July 30th, 2010
11:07 am
Evelyn at 10:09am, what a classic comment. LOL
I will continue to buy whether BP or Amoco. We hurt independent businesses otherwise.
jarvis
July 30th, 2010
11:10 am
Putting small business owners out of business because of the franchise logo they selected is short-sighted.
Gas station owners didn’t spill all of that crude. BP will overcome this disaster….many of the gas station owners will not. The boycott shows how little people actually think about what they are doing.
hello. there idiot
July 30th, 2010
11:16 am
I WANT MY LIFE BACK…anyone seen my yacht? I believe some subhumans like thos in LA are waxing the hull to make it fast. Now go make me a sandwich beotch.
Alee
July 30th, 2010
11:23 am
We consumers are not IDIOTS!!Do you really think we want know that the name has been CHANGED??? “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;”..Meaning “What matters is what something is,not what it is called.”So, I have to agree with the comment that they should just work on reinventing their image & not try to cover it up with a name change, that would only add fuel to the fire..No Pun intended!!Also,in this present economy, the average consumer will look for the cheapiest gas (contrary to what they may post on this blog)& maybe its a good thing for them to keep their prices at a lower rate it’ll force all the other gas companies to keep their prices at a reasonable rate!!…GOD BLESS US ALL THRU THIS DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIME!!!
Dee is an idiot
July 30th, 2010
11:24 am
Almost every single BP station in the Atlanta area is independently owned. Practice intelligent consumerism why don’t ya?
TnGelding
July 30th, 2010
11:33 am
Independence from foreign oil is a red herring.
Call Me Mr Big
July 30th, 2010
11:36 am
When you look at all the work it takes to find, obtain, ship, and refine oil, it still amazes me that we can buy gasoline at $2-something a gallon. This has to be the biggest bargain out there. Squeezing some orange-colored juice out of a fruit that grows on trees 500 miles away costs three times as much – WTF?
Garth
July 30th, 2010
11:36 am
I like herring.
DW
July 30th, 2010
11:37 am
Wasnt Transocean the company that was actually operating the rig that blew up? Dont hear anybody worried about boycotting them.
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
11:44 am
I already shun BP stations. The TV marketing spots put out by BP are now and have been (prior to the spill) some of the most insulting ads in the history of advertising, and their spots touting cleanup response and efforts are completely over the top. Why would I buy gas from a company whose leaders are convinced we’re nothing but a bunch a stupid sheep to be brainwashed and manipulated by their slanted propaganda? Answer is simple. I don’t and I won’t.
Richard
July 30th, 2010
11:47 am
transocean was ordered by BP to continue drilling.
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
11:48 am
The BP store owners made their own bed. If they want my business they’ll tell the parent company to cut out the insulting marketing. Until then, I’m exercising my freedom to choose.
Chaka
July 30th, 2010
11:53 am
I will continue to buy gas at BP or Ammoco because they have the best refined gas. I certainly won’t go to Citgo because that’s Venezuelan gas ………. and we all know where that’s from ………….don’t we?
hdhd
July 30th, 2010
11:54 am
I don’t buy from BP. I buy from the nice Indian gentleman that owns the store. Give him a break, he is just trying to make an honest living.
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
11:55 am
. . . and, I haven’t purchased gas from Citgo since Chavez took over. Now, I’m not stupid. I know the Venezuelan gas gets sold on the open/spot market and winds up in my tank anyway. Can’t control that, but I control what I can.
Kathleen
July 30th, 2010
12:05 pm
Transocean owned and operated the rig. BP owns the “oil rights” through their lease agreement with the federal government. So that’s why it’s BP’s spill to clean up – it’s their oil. Also, BP does not own or operate any of the gas stations. They are all franchises – BO gets x% of profit from the gas sales. But the rest of the retail inside the station is all local small business owners – so boycotts hurt the franchise owners the most.
Paul
July 30th, 2010
12:05 pm
I will not buy BP because of all the lies and problems they were trying to hide from the Government. Change the name to what ever you want, (We know it’s still BP) and we will not buy anything associated with you.
The only way they will get “some” people to come back is drop all their gas prices by 15% or more and you will get the crowd that are easily bought out.
Artie
July 30th, 2010
12:12 pm
It’s like polishing a TURD!!!!!
jarvis
July 30th, 2010
12:15 pm
Paul you better stop buying everyone’s gas then because BP is one of the largetst refiners in the world. They are making a buck off of everyone’s gas.
jarvis
July 30th, 2010
12:20 pm
DawgDad, how exactly did they make their own bed? You think gas station owners should look into the prepiatary procedures and deep water drilling habits of the parent company of their wholesaler?
That’s like saying a McDonalds franshiser should know where the soda water comes from in their Coke fountains.
That’s not, nor should it be, their focus.
skegee51
July 30th, 2010
12:31 pm
NO I WOULD NOT!!! BECAUSE OF ALL THE STATIONS I SEE THEIR GAS IS STILL THE HIGHEST PRICE GAS IN TOWN.THE CONTENTS INSIDE ARE ALSO THE HIGHEST IN TOWN.THE REBATES SODA AND CHIPS GIVE THESE STORES GO TOWARD THEIR OWN BOTTOM LINES…PLUS THOSE TOWEL HEADS DO NOT PAY ANY TAXES OF THE PRODUCTS THEY SALE……SO WHAT DUMB-BUTT WOULD DO THIS??
skegee51
July 30th, 2010
12:36 pm
KATHLEEN- THINKS WE ARE DUMB…..BP DO OWN THE BUILDING AND PUMPS,THEY CHARGE THE GAS PRICES ON THE PUMP.YOU DO LEAST THE BUSINESS,BUT THAT IS WHY THE FOOD,DRINKS,CHIPS ARE SO HIGH.THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OF THE GAS PRICING….NOW IF YOU OPEN JOE BLOW’S DISCOUNT GAS AND CAN AFFORD THE GAS YOU CAN CHARGE ANY AMOUNT YOU WANT….DON’T PLAY US DUMB KATHLEEN
kjdgf
July 30th, 2010
12:48 pm
to answer the question, ask yourself if you continued to buy citgo gas when retailers changed the name on their pumps
who cares
July 30th, 2010
12:49 pm
Wish we had marathon gas stations here. I thought Chevron bought Gulf and BP bought Arco. Yes BP is higher b/c of the additives. Works out to be less than a bottle of STP. Boycott CTIGO.
Shambolee
July 30th, 2010
12:51 pm
skegee51 You are about as dumb as Dawgdad…BP does not own the building and the pumps…they sold all of their properties in Georgia, and almost almost all other states…get your facts straight before posting in capital letters
DJ Superstar
July 30th, 2010
12:52 pm
All of you saying you will not buy BP gas, or won’t go to a BP gas station or that the owner change their affiliation to some other gas company – You are all idiots.
First of all, BP doesn’t make money by just selling gas. Some gas stations are BP owned and operated, but the majority of they are independent owners who have a long (10-20 years) of contract o buy gas from BP, set a price and sell it. All of you saying “change the affiliation” even know how much money the small independent business owner would have to pay to get out of that contract?
And all others who will not buy from BP, it’s a drop in the ocean for BP. To fight this, ask for technology that is not dependent on fossil fuel.
Oh, and one last thing, gas is not the only by-product of oil. You will be surprised how many things you would miss if there wasn’t any oil.
ed
July 30th, 2010
12:52 pm
What’s in a name? If it’s the correct octane I don’t care what brand it is. I don’t have any relatives in the oil business. If I did I’d try to persuade them to sell it for what it’s worth, and that’s a lot less than the current price. Left up to the oil companies,the government, and auto manufacturers we’ll all be walking or riding mass transit soon anyway. The days of having freedom of choice about anything are numbered.
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
12:54 pm
jarvis: BP store owners “made their own bed” because they chose of their own free will to sign the franchise contracts. What is happening to them is a business risk gone bad. Same with Citgo franchise owners. Do I feel for them? In a way, yes, but this is a free country – they are free to sell out and move on to something else if they can’t stand the heat in the kitchen.
I used to work for a chemical distributor of Dow Corning products. Dow Corning’s product liability problems were not our fault, but we sure absorbed some of the blow. That’s business risk.
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
12:57 pm
Ed: “The days of having freedom of choice about anything are numbered.” Only if we are too soft to fight for the freedoms we were provided.
Thinking Right
July 30th, 2010
1:01 pm
Who really gets hurt if you stop buying products at BP, the executives, or the minimum wage earner behind the counter? If BP were to shut down, the folks responsible would just move on to another high paying position with someone else, but the cashier is out of work, and will have to find work with someone else. By the way, unemployment is around 10%.
Who's There?
July 30th, 2010
1:06 pm
Since I’m legally blind, I just pull into the first station I come up to – I never know which brand I’m buying since I can’t see.
aw
July 30th, 2010
1:07 pm
DawgDad are you going to buy gas from QT, Kroger, Walmart, Costco? BP sells them gas too!
Harlanway
July 30th, 2010
1:22 pm
DawDad: So now that the spill seems to have disappeared; now that it is starting to appear that the Coast Guard and the other fire fighters actually caused the spill by sinking the rig, and now that we aren’t finding millions of dead birds and animals are you still on your silly boycott binge?
Dt1845
July 30th, 2010
1:23 pm
First off let me say, I am an avid scuba diver, not many people care more about the ocean than I do. Those of you who won’t buy BP gas act like this is something they wanted to happen. It’s costing them billions, they are more upset about it than you are. If we all quit buying BP gas they’ll run out of money and won’t be able to continue their clean up efforts. Also, each gas station is independently owned, mostly by fellow Americans, you are punishing them for an accident they did not cause. Narrow minded, just like the folks who elected the community organizer to run the country, can’t see past your emotions to get to the bigger picture.
shaggy
July 30th, 2010
1:26 pm
Build cars that runs on fart gas, so all of the dimwits who think boycotting BP changes anything can stick a garden hose up their a&& when they drive anywhere. These are the same morons that have no feakin idea just how much we depend on petroleum. Question for the dullards: Did you boycott Exxon after Valdez? Well, somebody DIDN’T, because they are the biggest company in the universe. Sheesh, the clowns never learn, and they can vote.
Scout
July 30th, 2010
1:33 pm
No ! BP stands for “Big Plug” !
It's Obama's Fault
July 30th, 2010
1:34 pm
Obama did it. If everything else was Bush’s fault, then Obama can take the heat for this one.
Oil & Gas
July 30th, 2010
1:43 pm
In these hard economic times I’ll buy gas from the devil himself if he’s selling a quality product for a good price!
Believe me a boycott will NOT hurt BP because they operate in other parts of the oil & gas sector such as midstream operations where it is insanely profitable!!!!
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
1:43 pm
Harlanway: Yes. In my original post I stated I’ve been “shunning” BP since long before the spill because I find their TV advertising blatantly insulting of my intelligence. It’s pure fascist social-responsibility propaganda, and I don’t buy it.
As for hurting the “little guy”, well, I owe them nothing and I’m free to shop where I choose. They owe me nothing. This is a free country, not Venezuela, at least for the time being.
Quite frankly, this being a business-oriented blog, I’m appalled by the lack of respect displayed by posters for free-market consumer choice and for the apparent lack of understanding of business risk. People have called me “dumb”; I’m an honors graduate with an MBA from a well-respected large private university. Far too many socialists in the house for my taste.
hello. there idiot
July 30th, 2010
1:44 pm
If the executives don’t care about the station owners – why should we? In all honesty, you could care less about them. I bet you even make ethnic jokes about them – admit it.
Voice of Reason
July 30th, 2010
1:54 pm
You people should really research things before you start rambling. The gasoline for this area comes into a pipeline in Doraville….all the major gas station chains send the trucks there to fill up. They add their additives for their brands in each tanker and send them off to their gas stations. The gas all comes from the same place….
MICHAEL
July 30th, 2010
2:02 pm
WHO CARES? WE ARE ALL PIGS AND THIS PARTICULAR CULTURE, IF YOU DARE TO CALL IT A CULTURE, IS NOTHING MORE THAN A NOSE DIVE TO HELL. WE ALL LIE AND CHEAT BECAUSE WE ALL BELIEVE THERE ARE GREENER PASTURES. LOOK BEHIND YOU CHUM AND SEE WHAT BEAUTY WAS LEFT BEHIND.
Andre
July 30th, 2010
2:04 pm
**How many of yall boycotted Exxon?** *Crickets* Thank you.
mrdonut
July 30th, 2010
2:09 pm
Never have, never will, buy BP.
HDS
July 30th, 2010
2:23 pm
Phhh…change your name all ya like, we will still know its you. Also Castrol as well.
Ricky
July 30th, 2010
2:30 pm
I must admit, seeing their name on the marquee always give me a one second pause. However they have been consistent with their stations, service and the like so I will continue to support the brand. Changing the brand will only cause me to use an alternative brand like QT or Racetrack. If they continue to try and clean up their mess, the turn around will be positive and the brand will survive.
Dave Swanson
July 30th, 2010
3:03 pm
They should never have changed the name to begin with! Amoco had the highest consumer loyality of any gasoline brand. BP uses the ARCO brand in the western US and Aral in Germany so why not brand the midwest and eastern US operation as Amoco.
Good Business Move
July 30th, 2010
3:04 pm
That’s a good business move and should help the BP company’s recovery after their corporate name has been tied to a highly publicized disaster.
Hugo Chavez changed the name of his Citgo stations in the U.S. …. but that was to hide the fact that he was the owner, and his stations were being boycotted in the America due to his radical politics in Venezuela and unpopularity in the U.S. and the world.
G Reon
July 30th, 2010
3:13 pm
BP needs to be ran out of business, no selling, no hostile take over and nothing else. Flat straight up ran out of business. Any other oil companies that are drilling without sound safety precautions need to be held accountable now and forced to put sound safety measures in place!
b
July 30th, 2010
3:30 pm
Either way, if you don’t buy BP gas then there will be no money left to clean up the spill. At least wait until the clean up is done before you boycott!
AtlantaNative62
July 30th, 2010
3:32 pm
How about taking the money that would be spent on changing all the signs (and for other rebranding costs) and using it to clean up the mess and help the families that were genuinely hurt by the disaster.
Mike
July 30th, 2010
3:56 pm
I haven’t bought Exxon since Valdez. I won’t buy BP. If they change to Amoco, I won’t buy that. I don’t buy Citgo (Hugo Chavez Oil Company). I am investigating the cost of riding a horse to work.
Steve0
July 30th, 2010
3:56 pm
Oil is a fungible commodity. If you buy gas, you buy BP. It doesn’ t matter what the sign says.
Rick
July 30th, 2010
4:10 pm
BP doesn’t own any retail stores.
They make the big money from drilling and refining. At retail they collect franchise fees.
If you don’t buy their gas it will put some local people out of work and BP will sell the gas at Shell stations, at RaceTrac, at Exxon or where ever. At retail, it’s all the same gas.
Pedestrian
July 30th, 2010
4:14 pm
What a lot of people don’t know is that the gasoline made from the crude pumped by BP out of the Gulf or other BP drilling sites could be sold at any gas station in the US. In addition you could be buying gas from BP wells at Chevron, Shell or many other gas stations. the best way to tell BP you don’t like what they are doing is to buy and use less gasoline. In Montgomery to battle segregation on the bus system the people did not boycott GM or Blue Bird or whoever was manufacturing the buses they stopped riding the buses.
Tired of the BS
July 30th, 2010
4:31 pm
If other BP regional gas suppliers are like the ones in GA, then it won’t make a difference what their name is. Our local BP gas supplier doesn’t just provide gas to BP stations. It also provides gas to OneStop, Quick Change, and many other independent (usually Patel owned) stations. I know of at least 32 local stations that don’t carry the BP sign or affiliation that get ALL of their gas supply from BP. So no matter what name they choose to use, it will still be BP.
While I agree that we shouldn’t be “hurting” our local stations just because they are affiliated with BP, it would stand to reason that they too have a choice. At this point in the game, I seriously doubt they would put up too big a fight if the local stations wanted out of their franchise leases. But then again, we are talking about BIG OIL.
The new American face of BP is nothing more than a political about face. Bait and switch. We Americans are infamous for selling ourselves out to others. We feel “used” and “exploited” when someone else does it, but its just a crying shame when we let one of our own countrymen do it to us. Get ready folks, its just beginning.
BP may not be the sole blame-bearer of the Gulf “accident”, but we as a nation haven’t held anyone else to account for it either. Shame on us!!
DawgDad
July 30th, 2010
6:00 pm
I’ll make one final comment in support of free consumer choice:
The station owners hang out the BP sign for a reason – Because they believe it has marketing value and will help attract customers. In other words, they profit from good will created largely by others. So, when the BP name is besmirched they deservedly take some of the hit. This is how business operates in a free market society. If you don’t approve, I quite frankly have no use for you and hope to heck you don’t vote.
Living in the real world
July 30th, 2010
6:19 pm
B.P supplies gas to the majority of stations , even Race Trac and Quick Trip
irishmafia
July 30th, 2010
7:00 pm
Let’s call it Obamafuel since his aim is to control all the industries in the USA and hence all it’s citizens
HRPufnstuf
July 30th, 2010
8:03 pm
Sure, change it back to what it used to be: GULF OIL.
Ahahahahahahahahaha!
The Stock Tutor » Blog Archive » US petrol stations to consider banishing BP from the pumps – Telegraph.co.uk
August 1st, 2010
9:47 am
[...] as AmocoFast CompanyShould BP Still Bring Back Amoco?Seeking Alpha (blog)TopNews New Zealand -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -HULIQall 477 news [...]
The Investing Tutor » Blog Archive » US petrol stations to consider banishing BP from the pumps – Telegraph.co.uk
August 1st, 2010
9:56 am
[...] Consider Rebranding as AmocoFast CompanySeeking Alpha (blog) -TopNews New Zealand -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 478 news [...]
Jeff
August 1st, 2010
2:24 pm
I think that re-branding themselves will only temporarily “band-aid” the problem. People will not soon forget what happened. The only way for them to fix their rep is to go over-the-top with efforts to clean up the spill and help repair the lives of people affected by it. Let’s all join the guys at http://www.TheWorldFrenzy.com
A.S.Mathew
August 2nd, 2010
10:37 am
Let us grow soya bean and produce more than enough biodiesel to run cars. Then all these
oil companies will change their names every week and a parade of merger will start. Why do
I need to punish the local gas station owner for the mishap at the gulf of mexico!