Communicating Benefits Of Pipelines In Canada

Communication Benefits of Pipelines in Canada
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Communication Benefits of Pipelines in Canada
Part 1: Research
The Canadian oil and gas industry is in a state of decline. Much of this can be attributed to the difficulty the industry has had to undergo when it comes putting up new pipelines. There has been more negative public coverage of the industry that has created a negative perception of what the industry stands for. One of the more recent campaigns that have hurt the Canadian oil and gas industry is the “Tar sands” campaign. The campaign against the expansion of Tar Sands helped in creating negative perceptions among the citizens, and they have since remained fixated with the idea that the expansions within the oil industry, especially the introduction of new pipelines can only contribute to negative consequences on the environment (CBC News, 2018). The effect has been so enormous, but this can also be attributed to the failure of the people within the industry to communicate effectively with the general population and make them see that much good can come from the industry and that it is not only about the negative consequences. The Canadian government has only worked to make the situation even worse through restrictive legislation that limits the ability to get mines approved within Canada. Morgan (2019) argues that it can take close to 15 years for this to happen. This is a sharp contrast to other countries where it takes between two to eleven years for the same to happen.
Synopsis
A report by Howe Institute argues that the Canadian government loses close to $100 billion annually in lost investments following recent declines in mining, planned energy and forestry investments in Canada (Morgan, 2019). It is apparent that there is a need for a better communication strategy to ensure that people can see beyond the presupposed environment impacts in pipeline investments so that they can begin to think positively. Currently, the media and the general public at large have opted to boycott pipelines without having a clear understanding of the benefits underlying investments in the pipeline. The boycott only continues to get worse without efforts to encourage the people to change their perception. Hopper (2018) argues that Canada loses close to $80 million per day to the U.S because of these failed policies and negative perception. Companies in the Canadian oil and gas industries now have to do more to remain relevant in the eyes of the general public. For example, as opposed to the companies in the U.S, Canadian companies have to sell their oil at a relatively lower price. A great case is that of WCS which sells at close to $20 per barrel when compared to the West Texas Intermediate which sells at $70 per barrel (Hopper, 2018). The negative perception has made it difficult for Canadian companies to expand and bridge this gap. Therefore, there is a need of the industry players to do more in terms of their communication strategies to reconnect with the media and the general public to give them a better chance of expanding and reducing the losses that are currently incurred in the industry. One of the major concerns for the players in the industry is the continued negative media coverage has threatened to derail their position. The media has focused on the negatives and misrepresentation of information. The media has talked of “oil sands” in Canada. In a real sense, they are never really oil and they also never fit the definition of “Tar sands.” They are more of “bitumen sands” which can be refined to jet fuel, gasoline, and oil. After the refining of bitumen, the good stuff is taken out and what remains is used to make tar. However, the attack ads used the very worst thing that can be made using bitumen. The media has been anything but negative, always looking for ways to set the public in a panic mood. Even in this case, they could easily have called it “Gasoline sands” which could have had some elements of positivity. However, they were mostly interested in the negativity which they pushed so hard to make it almost believable. The liberal government that is in control of the country now has also not done a lot to make things any better. Morgan (2019) argues that more foreign investments have fled the country since they took over. In competing countries such as the U.S, foreign investments have rebounded while that of Canada has continued to get worse. Within the U.S and other areas on the globe, global investments in oil and gas have seen a positive turnaround. However, in Canada, this has not been the case. Right now, people associate the oil and gas industry within Canada with environmental degradation. It has become even more difficult to put up new pipelines because of the negativity from the press, skepticism from the people, and unfavorable policies from the government. It rests solely upon the players in the industry to take corrective measures and avert the situation.
Communication strategy
From a communication strategy perspective, the oil and gas industry needs to use those same strategies that those against the pipelines have used. First, they need a mass media barrage. The industry needs to communicate with the people it targets continuously. As Jaques (2007) notes, communication of any form can lead to the creation of an unbreakable bond that can lead to high competencies. The goal should be to create an emotional connection with the people involved so that they can learn to view the industry differently. They can communicate with the people through commercials, internet ads, radio ads, social media, celebrity pokes, and even the first nation leaders. Even though the media reports that some of the first nation leaders are not at peace with the expansion of the pipelines, one never hears it from them directly because, in truth, most of them at peace with the idea of the expansion of the pipelines and they advocate for them. These communication ads should take into account the fact that there is a crisis that needs to be managed because the deterioration of the industry has reached a level that calls for effective management to the situation. Managing a crisis requires the management of issues that surround that crisis (Grigorescu & Lupu, 2015). Therefore, to manage it, it would be important to identify the areas that the negative ads from the media have affected and respond through positive ads that would attempt to sway the people to change their minds. The advertisements should be consistent and should target people in different corners. If there are people that like to use social media, they should be targeted using an effective strategy. In the media barrage, they should include several points such as the tax revenues the industry has created, the jobs they have created, the funding that the industry has provided to the first nations, the support the industry has gotten from the first nations. Canada produces its oil ethically, and pipelines are a safe alternative to rails, that pipelines are environmentally safer than the rails, that pipelines from the West Coast of Canada to the East would have prevented foreign importation through ships, and just the need to spread only the real facts about the industry.
Second, it is important for the organizations within the oil and gas industry to participate in corporate social responsibility activities that would improve their standings in the eyes of the people within these communities. Within the market place, corporate social responsibility has become important and a strategic part of the successful strategy of organizations. Because of the importance of CSR, Tata & Prasad (2015) point out that organizations are today engaging in socially responsible activities and they have set for themselves socially responsible values and goals, and they now take more responsibility for their economic actions and the impact that those actions have on the communities around them. Through CSR, organizations can get have a better connection and understanding with people so that they would truly get to understand their values and see them as people working for the betterment of the communities and not against their progress. The oil and gas industry needs to do more in CSR so that they can have better connections with these people and establish a bond that would be unbreakable. There are a lot of CSR activities that organizations can engage in including sponsoring education, health promotion activities, disaster management programs, etc. Mazutis & Slawinski (2015) further argues that it is through activities as this that it would be possible to reconnect businesses and society at large. Effective CSR activities can lead to a major turnaround for the places, and they can see them realize much financial progress. It is important for the community to be able to judge the companies in this sector based on what they see them doing, and the values that they stand for. This way, it would be difficult for negative ads to have any meaningful impact. The same media that has been used to send negative information about the oil and gas industry can be used to change the situation. It is only about having the right message to send to people and making them see that there is a lot better about the industry than they are being let to know. Nwagbara & Reid (2013) argue that some companies have used CSR to mislead people about their impacts and what they do in society. Companies in the oil and gas industry cannot afford such controversies. Therefore, they must be true to their CSR initiatives and strategies. They need to make a promise and deliver on it. Nwagbara & Reid (2013) further argue that the way companies communicate their commitment to CSR is crucial to their legitimacy and success especial in this new media age, where there can be a huge effect on information manipulation and dissemination. It is important for the people to see that the oil and gas industry is concerned about the environment and would not do anything to harm it. The survival of any business today depends on the way the stakeholders view the commitment of organizations to their CSR initiatives. Therefore, effective CSR communication is important because it takes into account how the views of these stakeholders are taken into consideration. This is important for the sustainability of the business
The Role of Leadership
Finally, the industry needs leaders that are strategic communicators. The leadership of the oil and gas industry has not been communicating more, advocating for the companies and making their voices. Clampitt, Berk & Williams (2002) argue that good leaders should understand the battles they fight and position their messages to fight those battles effectively. Therefore, the leadership of the industry should be at the frontline in communicating about the interests of the compa...