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Time to scrap BP brand? Gas-station owners divided
AP ^ | July 30, 2010 | By HARRY R. WEBER

Posted on 07/30/2010 7:26:49 AM PDT by YabbaDabbaDooDoo

NEW ORLEANS – BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of its effort to repair the company's badly damaged reputation.

Some who have seen their sales plunge because of protests say BP has already sought a fresh start by naming an American to replace its gaffe-prone British CEO, so why not change the name on gas station marquees to Amoco, which once stood for American Oil Co.

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.

In the aftermath of the oil spill, some BP-branded gas stations reported sales declines of 10 percent to 40 percent from Florida to Illinois. BP later responded by offering distributors of BP gasoline cash in their pockets, reductions in credit card fees and help with more national advertising.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bp; dealers; oilspill
I had the problem of trying to decide whether or not to buy bp gas this past week. The price was about 20 cents a gallon cheaper than other gas stations in the area. This made me wonder: Is it REALLY supply and demand? Wouldn't bp's gas prices have to go UP?
1 posted on 07/30/2010 7:26:52 AM PDT by YabbaDabbaDooDoo
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo

Not if both supply and demand go down

And there is no indication that supply is down


2 posted on 07/30/2010 7:29:34 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (A woman is like an artichoke; you have to do a bit of work to get to her heart ~Insp. Clouseau)
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo

LOL—Back to Amoco we go. Beyond Petroleum.


3 posted on 07/30/2010 7:33:02 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Larry Lucido

Call it

Baraq Petroleum

guaranteed to get 37% of the business no matter what


4 posted on 07/30/2010 7:33:10 AM PDT by nascarnation
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo

I noticed last night on TV that BP is running long ads describing what lengths is it going to to stop the leak and clean up. If they would have spent as much money on running that operation responsibly as they have spent on advertising their commitment to “clean energy” and sucking up to the enviros the past several years, this wouldn’t have happened.


5 posted on 07/30/2010 7:35:16 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo
 
"which once stood for American Oil Co"
 
 
What about changing it to "BOHICA"?
 
 
Special relationship my arse.  TEA, anybody?

6 posted on 07/30/2010 7:37:05 AM PDT by LomanBill (Animals! The DemocRats blew up the windmill with an Acorn!)
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo
I had the problem of trying to decide whether or not to buy bp gas this past week.

I live near a BP terminal so I know how stupid making the "decision" is. Trucks from a half dozen different companies pull into the BP terminal and deliver gasoline to every station in the area whether they're BP stations or not.
7 posted on 07/30/2010 7:38:21 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo

Remeber Bubba Clinton stopped the anti-trust action to stop BP from buying Atlantic Richfield (ARCO). So Bubba gave BP the ability to become to big to prosecute.


8 posted on 07/30/2010 7:44:03 AM PDT by Marty62 (marty60)
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To: 1rudeboy

Looks like BP stations are cheapest in my area this morning. Doesn’t really matter though since the gas at Marathon, Shell, Citgo etc are all coming from the same BP terminal anyway.

It cracks me up that so many seem to think that every different station gets their gas from different companies. The simple fact is, they get it from the nearest terminal.


9 posted on 07/30/2010 7:51:43 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: cripplecreek

When BP acquired Amoco and then proceeded to destroy the brand, many in the oil patch thought it was sheer insanity.
Getting rid of Amoco vs. green and gold BP was like destroying the Marlboro brand. But, given the arrogance at BP, not surprising.


10 posted on 07/30/2010 7:57:59 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Impeachment !)
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo
The price was about 20 cents a gallon cheaper than other gas stations in the area.

20 cents? Around here they are still tied with Shell for the top gas prices. Speedway and a few other off name stations are a couple cents cheaper and Sam's Club randomly moves between close to the majors' prices and 10-15 cents below, especially if everyone else's prices rose in the past day or two. Twenty cents would have lines around the block here even if was Bin Ladin Gas.

11 posted on 07/30/2010 8:08:34 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Gun control was originally to protect Klansmen from their victims. The basic reason hasn't changed.)
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo

It’s possible that demand for BP gasoline shifted farther down than supply. Hence the price for BP gasoline would be lower. Demand shifted down because of the obvious negative image of BP gasoline. Also, there is no indication that supply changed. It’s possible that the supply that leaked out would not have been on the market for months anyway.


12 posted on 07/30/2010 8:12:56 AM PDT by TerP26
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To: LomanBill

Yep, Amoco was the American Oil Company. Its corporate name was Standard Oil of Indiana. It was one of the companies created after the big Standard Oil Trust was dissolved.

BP owns the rights to the Amoco name and branding, so they could just rebrand them with that name anytime.

Are the enviros still boycotting BP and Arco stations?


13 posted on 07/30/2010 8:24:50 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: LomanBill

Yep, Amoco was the American Oil Company. Its corporate name was Standard Oil of Indiana. It was one of the companies created after the big Standard Oil Trust was dissolved.

BP owns the rights to the Amoco name and branding, so they could just rebrand them with that name anytime.

Are the enviros still boycotting BP and Arco stations?


14 posted on 07/30/2010 8:25:06 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Dilbert San Diego

>>Are the enviros still boycotting BP and Arco stations?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/999451/posts?page=67#67


15 posted on 07/30/2010 8:50:43 AM PDT by LomanBill (Animals! The DemocRats blew up the windmill with an Acorn!)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

The terminal near my house used to be Amoco as well.


16 posted on 07/30/2010 8:52:48 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: YabbaDabbaDooDoo

Who is asking this question?

Ridiculous.

Did we scrap the Exxon name after the Exxon Valdez debacle?


17 posted on 07/30/2010 9:07:00 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (PALIN/MCCAIN IN 2012 - barf alert? sarc tag? -- can't decide)
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