Prompt and description of the assignment:  For this assignment, you will critique a CSR campaign of your choosing (excluding any covered in the weekly readings and lecture) that was launched and conducted primarily through social media. You will research and select the social media campaign through online research of CSRWire and related sources in the open and peer-reviewed literature. hment_9 attachment_10 attachment_10 attachment_11 attachment_11 attachment_12 attachment_12 attachment_13 attachment_13 U.S. Copyright Law (title 17 of U.S. code) governs the reproduction and redistribution of copyrighted material. Downloading this document for the purpose of redistribution is prohibited. Ethical Practice of Social Media in Public Relations Edited by Marcia W. DiStaso and Denise Sevick Bortree Routledge Taylor & Francis Croup NEW YORK LONDON First published 2014 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon 0X14 4RN Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of Marcia W. DiStaso and Denise Sevick Bortree to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ethical practice of social media in public relations / edited by Marcia W. DiStaso & Denise Sevick Bortree. pages cm — (Routledge research in public relations) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Social media—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Social responsibility of business. 3. Public relations. 4. Internet—Moral and ethical aspects. I. DiStaso, Marcia W., 1970- II. Bortree, Denise Sevick. TK5105.878.E784 2014 174′.96592—dc23 2013033525 ISBN 13: 978-0-415-72753-2 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-1-315-85217-1 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by IBT Global. SUSTAINABLE Certified Sourcing mStStSc INIIIAIIVt www.sfiprogram.org SFI-01234 SFI label applies to the text stock Printed and bound in the United States of America by IBT Global. 8 Corporate Social Responsibility in Environmental Crisis A Case Study of BP’s Youtube Response to the Deepwater Horizon Crisis Denise Sevick Bortree INTRODUCTION On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico started a chain of events that would lead to 11 deaths and millions of gallons of oil pouring into the Gulf waters. BP was the key actor in the crisis, and used many communication channels during and after the crisis to inform its stakeholders about its efforts to cap the well and restore the Gulf region. On May 27, 2010, BP’s YouTube channel was launched with over 20 videos. During the first 18 months of the crisis, it posted over 300 videos to the channel. This study examines the ways in which BP used the videos to communicate its corporate social responsibility and to pro­ mote its restoration efforts during the environmental crisis. LITERATURE REVIEW Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been defined as addressing legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities of an organization in relationship with key stakeholders (Carroll, 1979; Carroll, 1999; Garriga & Mele, 2004; Maignan &c Ferrell, 2004). It is often understood to be discretion­ ary acts by organizations to give back to communities and societies that have supported them (Kotler & Lee, 2005). In the environmental realm, this means that organizations need to consider their impact on people, habitat and species, and the economy. Although, social responsibility by a company can have a positive impact in its bottom line (Joyner & Payne, 2002), as does environmental responsibility (Wahba, 2008), CSR actions are considered to be ethical because of their positive impact on employees, communities, the environment, and society. CSR can take on many forms including corporate social marketing, sus­ tainable business practices, philanthropy, and cause promotion (Kotler & Lee, 2005). CSR has been leveraged by corporations for decades and in 112 Denise Sevick. Bortree many cases has been incorporated into accountable reporting strategies (KPMG, 2011). Today even mid-size companies are rapidly beginning to adopt CSR strategies, with a recent report indicating that as many as two thirds are currently implementing CSR programs (CSRWire, 2013). Research has suggested companies that have effective CSR programs may be more insulated from certain types of crisis than are those without effective programs (Eisingerich et al, 2011). Recent studies suggest that this process works the other way as well. Handling a crisis well tends to protect the reputation of an organizations’ CSR programs (Haigh &c Brubaker, 2010; Haigh & Dardis, 2012) Crisis and Image Restoration Strategies Organizations that experience crisis often suffer reputational damage and must work to restore their reputation in the public eye (Coombs, 2000; Coombs & Holladay, 2008). A crisis, often defined as any event that pro­ duces negative consequences for an organization (Fearn-Banks, 2002), must be addressed by an organization. Research suggests six strategies that may be used in this process—compensation (offering payment or gifts), ingratiation (praising stakeholders), apology (taking responsibility and ask­ ing for forgiveness), denial (stating that there is no crisis), justification (min­ imizing perceived damage), and reminder (pointing to good works of the organization in the past) (Coombs, 2007). The effectiveness of the strate­ gies depends on the nature of the crisis. For example, organizations that are culpable for the crisis should not engage in denial or justification. Rather, apology and compensation would be more effective strategies. Managing crisis through social media provides the opportunity for immediate dissemination of information; however, the effectiveness of crisis management through social media channels is still in question (Liu et al 2011; Shultz et al 2011; Moody, 2011). Research suggests that some types of information are more readily accepted through traditional media or word-of-mouth rather than social media (Liu et al, 2011). The study presented here measure responses to all crisis videos in a social media chan­ nel and compares their acceptance to those that tout CSR messages. This comparison will provide insight into the relationship between content and response in a social media outlet. Prior research on the Deepwater Horizon crisis suggests that in its press releases BP most often accepted responsibility and offered compensation to victims (Harlow, Brantley, & Harlow, 2011). The same held true for their social media channels (Muralidharan, Dillistone, & Shin, 2011). Other research found that during the crisis, 34% of BP’s press releases were official updates and 23% addressed its social responsibility. What is not known is the types of image restoration strategies that BP attempted to use through its CSR videos during and after the Deepwater Horizon cri­ sis. One could argue that CSR is a form of image restoration strategy that Corporate Social Responsibility in Environmental Crisis 113 takes responsibility for the damage caused by the crisis. If so, CSR could be closely aligned to apology. Framing As an organization emerges from a crisis and begins to leverage its CSR strategies, the way in which it frames its actions have implication for accep­ tance by the public. Framing, defined as structures through which individu­ als make sense of information (Reese, 2007), help guide readers to the most important material and offer a sense of priority for topics. Hallahan (1999) suggests that framing can be a valuable tool in public relations that can help guide publics in their understanding of situations, organizational action, news, and responsibility, among others. Much of the dialogue around the Deepwater Horizon crisis focused on environmental issues, including impact to species and habitats, impact on individuals, and impact on broader regions in the southern U.S. Environ­ mental framing has been studied for many years, and the results suggest that media often adopt frames from information subsidies when addressing environmental topics (Reber &c Berger, 2005), making the proper selection of framing particularly important. Other studies of environmental fram­ ing (Dardis, 2007; Olausson, 2009; Davis, 1995; Bortree et al, 2012) offer insights into the most effective strategies for framing these messages. They find that when people feel that they might lose something (loss frame) or they might experience an immediate impact (current generation), they are more likely to take positive action toward the environment (Davis, 1995). In the case of the Deepwater Horizon crisis, focus on immediate needs of the stakeholders and an understanding of how loss might be prevented should be more positively received than other types of frames. Case Study: Deepwater Horizon Crisis i This chapter will examine framing and the use of CSR as an image restora­ tion strategy by BP during the Deepwater Horizon crisis. On April 20, 2010, an explosion at a Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Gulf of Mexico set off a chain of events that will forever be linked to the corporation BP. When the media discovered that the oil rig was leased by BP, the company found itself in the center of the crisis. Slowly, BP began to engage in social media in response to the crisis. A week after the blast (April 27), BP took to Twitter and began to tweet at the handle @BP_America (BP, n.d.). On May 2 (day 13) the company made its first post to Facebook regarding the crisis. On May 18 (day 29) the official BP YouTube channel was launched and the first video was posted on May 27, 2010. Numerous attempts to cap the well failed, and finally on July 15, 2010, 86 days after the initial explosion, the well was officially capped (Robertson 8c Fountain, 2010). By then BP had suffered significant reputational damage and began an active campaign to boost its 114 Denise Sevick Bortree image through an aggressive corporate social responsibility campaign that it documented in video and posted to its YouTube channel. The campaign included partnerships with local organizations and activist groups, signifi­ cant financial contributions to boost the local economy, and prominent use of local employees to establish a sense of proximity for the company. On October 26, 2011 (15 months after the well was capped), BP was granted permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (Krauss, 2011). This study takes a look at the all videos during the life of the crisis and then specifically analyzes CSR videos that BP used to repair its reputa­ tion between the end of the crisis (July 15, 2010) and the day BP received a drilling permit for the Gulf (October 26, 2011). By examining the trends of BP’s CSR communication on YouTube over the 15 months, the study offers insight into the way the company leveraged a digital channel to address concerns of the residents of the Gulf, government officials, and investors. Three Phases of the Crisis This study examines all three phases of the crisis that are defined below. 1. Explosion/oil spill (4/20/10—7/14/10). On April 20, 2010, the first phase began when an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico led to the leak of thousands of gallons of oil from an underwater well. 2. Post well cap (7/15-10 -9/18/10). The second phase began on July 15, 2010 when after multiple attempts over a number of weeks, BP finally capped the leaking well; however, the well was not yet declared dead, meaning it still posed a potential threat. 3. Well declared dead (9/19/10-10/22/11). The third phase, the post­ threat phase, began on September 19, 2010, when the well was declared officially dead (Fountain, 2010), and BP could turn its full attention toward a restoration in the Gulf. The end of the crisis, in this study, was set as October 22, 2011 when BP was given a license to begin drilling for oil again in the Gulf. Three Categories of Videos On its YouTube channel, BP organized videos related to the Deepwater Horizon crisis into three playlist. Presumably, these categories were devel­ oped to make access to information simple and to promote its responsible actions during the crisis. These were used in the analysis of this study. 1. Reassuring health and safety—Videos in this category showed orga­ nizations how to address safety and health issues that had arisen dur­ ing the crisis. Too, the videos showcased some of the processes that BP was using to ensure health and safety. Corporate Social Responsibility in Environmental Crisis 115 2. Restoring the economy—This series of videos focused on the eco­ nomic impact of the crisis on Gulf coast communities. Videos featured local businesses talking about how they were working with BP, and some videos gave information on applying for financial assistance. 3. Restoring the environment—The environmental videos addressed BP’s actions toward environmental damage caused by the crisis. Many of these videos featured wildlife being rescued and returned to the wild or habitat being cleaned up. Research questions Studies of the Deepwater Horizon crisis have not looked indepth at BP’s use of YouTube to disseminate its messages to key audiences. This study will explore the way BP leveraged its CSR activities during the Deepwater Horizon crisis by answering the following research questions. RQ1: RQ2: RQ3: RQ4: RQS: To what degree were BP’s CSR video messages rejected (or accepted) by viewers? How were BP’s CSR messages framed? Which image restoration strategies were used in BP’s CSR video messages? How were images and references to people, places, and the envi­ ronment used in BP’s CSR video messages? Are there relationships between images and the degree to which CSR video messages are rejected? METHOD To answer the research questions, a quantitative content analysis was con­ ducted on the 315 YouTube videos posted on BP’s channel between May 27, 2010 (the day the channel was launched), and October 22,2011. Two trained coders pulled information about each video from the YouTube site and then viewed the video and conducted additional coding on the content. Intercoder reliability was conducted using 10% of the videos, and results were calcu­ lated using Cronbach’s alpha. Overall results were high (a = .97), and the reliability for each category is reported below with the category descriptions. Coding Scheme Videos were coded for their date posted (a = 1), length (a = 1), number of views (a = 1), number of comments (a = 1), number of likes (a = 1), and number of dislikes (a = 1) as reported on the YouTube website. Then, each video was viewed to determine whether it included CSR content. Videos 116 Denise Sevick Bortree that were considered CSR were subjected to additional content coding as reported below. YouTube permits viewers to select a “like” or “dislike” response to vid­ eos. The dislike percentages for the videos in this study were calculated by comparing the number of dislikes to the number of views. For example, if a video was viewed 100 times and disliked 10 times, it had a 10% dislike score. The author reasoned that those who indicated dislike had strong negative feelings toward the video. Frames. Building on prior PR literature (Hallahan, 1999; Bortree et al, 2007), the study looked at ways that the videos framed the issue, including emotional vs. rational, restoration and hope, attitudes of Gulf residents (positive, neutral, or negative), and partnerships with others (nonprofit, for-profit, government, and individual/celebrity). Each potential frame was coded as present or absent in a video (a = .96). Image restoration strategies. Six image restoration strategies were coded in this study: compensation, ingratiation, apology, denial, justification, and reminder (Coombs, 2007). Each strategy was coded as present or absent in a video (a = .97). References. This study was interested in the people, locations, and other items referenced in the videos. To measure this, videos were coded as ref­ erenced (or not referenced) in images or in words for the following: Gulf residents, BP employees, government officials, specific communities (towns, cities, neighborhoods, etc.), states, species, plant life, water, beaches, or food (a = .94). Images. Separately, the videos were coded for the images that appeared in them. Coded images included: BP employees, employees helping others, Gulf residents, residents helping others, government officials, animals/fish, beaches, water, cities or communities, underwater images, BP-owned sites, people laughing/enjoying self, people angry/frustrated, women, men, Cau­ casians, or minorities (a = .95). FINDINGS BP posted 315 videos to its YouTube channel between April 20, 2010 and October 22, 2011. The degree to which these videos were accepted by the public were likely influenced by time and by the number of views, as the publics’ anger began to subside as the crisis moved into a post-crisis phase. Too, videos that received more views likely were more disliked, as the publics’ anger about the crisis would lead it to view and share videos. A graphical representation of the relationship between time and the number of dislikes can be found in Figure 8.1, and a representation of the rela­ tionship between views and dislikes can be found in Figure 8.2. The vid­ eos were categorized into the three timeframes and an ANCOVA was run to compare degree to which the videos were disliked during each period. Corporate Social Responsibility in Environmental Crisis 117 Relationship between views and dislike percentage Figure 8.1 Relationship between time and dislike percentage across all BP videos. Even controlling for time and views, there was still a significant difference between the dislike percentage for the three phases (p = .048) with phase 1 being most disliked and phase 3 being least disliked. To answer research question one about the degree to which BP’s CSR video messages were rejected by viewers, an ANCOVA analysis was run Figure 8.2 Relationship between views and dislike percentage across all BP videos. 118 Denise Sevick Bortree that controlled for time and views. The analysis suggested that the three types of CSR videos—health and safety, economy, and environment— were significantly more disliked (F (1,306) =6.33, p = .01) than the other videos posted by BP during the 18-month period. Among the three types of CSR videos, health and safety was most disliked followed by environ­ ment, and videos on the economy were least disliked (F (1, 51) = 19.71, p < .001). The second research question asked about framing of CSR messages in BP's videos. A frequency analysis of the CSR videos found a greater use of rational frames than emotional frames. This was seen most distinctly in the environmental videos (Table 8.1). At the same time, the frame of restoration and hope was most often seen in the environmental videos. BP frequently referenced Gulf residents in its videos, and one of the frames that it used was the attitude of the residents toward the spill and toward BP. Interestingly, the attitude expressed by residents in the environmental videos was always positive (100%), while attitudes in the economic videos were mostly positive (83%), and the health and safety videos were rarely positive (14%). Rather, residents in the health and safety videos expressed more neutral (43%) and negative (43%) attitudes. Another frame used in the videos was partnership. BP often pointed to partnerships with nonprofits, for-profits, and government. This happened most often in the environmental videos. The third research question asked about image restoration strategies in BP's CSR videos. The content analysis found that the most frequently used strategy, of the ones coded, was compensation that appeared in 35% ofthe health and safety videos and 46% of the economic videos. It did not appear in the environmental videos. Rather, ingratiation was the most common strategy in the environmental videos. The fourth research question asked about images and reference in BP's CSR videos. Gulf residents were referenced in 92% of economic videos and 85% of health and safety videos. BP employees were referenced in 95% of the health and safety videos but only around 50% of the economic and envi­ ronmental videos. Not surprising, 95% of the environmental videos included a reference to species and 78% included water (Table 8.1). Significant differ­ ences emerged in references to BP employees (p < .05), states (p < .05), species (p < .001), water (p < .001), beaches (p < .05), and food (p < .01). While similar, the images used in the videos had some notable dif­ ferences. For example, 85% of health and safety videos referenced Gulf employees but only 40% included their images. All economic videos showed images from local cities or communities and only 54% showed images of BP employees. The most common images in environmental videos were water (82%) and animals and fish (78%). Interestingly, women showed up in 91% of environmental videos, and 85% of economic videos but only 50% of health and safety videos. Significant differences appeared in images of BP employees (p > .01), Gulf residents (p < .01), residents helping others Corporate Social Responsibility in Environmental Crisis Table 8.1 119 Analysis of BP's CSR Video Messages During Deepwater Horizon Crisis Health and Safety Videos Economy Videos Emotional 35.0% 30.8% 8.7% Rational 65.0% 69.2% 91.3% 21.7% Variable Environment Videos 5.0% 0.0% 35.0% 46.2% 26.1% Positive* 14.3% 83.3% 100.0% Neutral* 42.9% 16.7% 0.0% Negative* 42.9% 0.0% 0.0% Nonprofit 15.0% 23.1% 26.1% For-profit 5.0% 7.7% 21.2% Government 20.0% 7.7% 34.8% Individual/celebrity 10.0% 0.0% 4.3% Compensation** 35.0% 46.2% 0.0% Ingratiation 25.0% 7.7% 26.1% Apology Restoration/hope Attitudes of Gulf residents Partnerships Image Restoration Strategies 20.0% 0.0% 8.7% Denial 0.0% 7.7% 0.0% Justification 5.0% 7.7% 4.3% Reminder 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% Gulf residents 85.0% 92.3% 69.6% BP employees** 95.0% 53.8% 56.5% Government officials 15.0% 7.7% 34.8% Specific communities 70.0% 84.6% 56.5% States* 40.0% 84.6% 56.5% Species*** 10.0% 38.5% 95.7% Plant life 30.0% 53.8% 65.2% Water*** 33.3% 30.8% 78.3% Beaches* 10.0% 53.8% 47.8% Food** 15.0% 46.2% 4.3% 95.0% 53.8% 56.5% 25.0% 23.1% 30.4% References Images BP employees** Employees helping others (continued) 120 Denise Sevick Bortree Table 8.1 (continued) Health and Safety Videos Economy Videos Environment Videos 40.0% 92.3% 69.6% 10.0% 7.7% 52.2% Government officials 5.0% 15.4% 26.1% Animals/fish*** 5.0% 38.5% 78.3% 10.0% 53.8% 47.8% Variable Gulf residents'1* Residents helping others'1'1 Beaches'1 Water'1 33.3% 22.2% 81.8% City/community'1'1'1 35.0% 100.0% 21.7% Underwater images 0.0% 0.0% 4.3% BP-owned sites'111'1 80.0% 38.5% 26.1% People laughing/enjoying self 25.0% 61.5% 30.4% People angry/frustrated 10.0% 7.7% 0.0% Women'1'1 50.0% 84.6% 91.3% Men 85.0% 100.0% 82.6% Caucasian 95.0% 100.0% 100.0% Minorities 35.0% 46.2% 43.5% Note: *p Purchase answer to see full attachment Explanation & Answer: 750 Words Tags: social media twitter CSR campaign User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.