President Obama said “Shipping dirtier crude oil into our country would not increase America’s energy security.” during a press conference turning down the Keystone pipeline project. Besides the obvious disappointment experienced by our friends out west, Alberta’s brand took a major blow today. The president’s reference to “dirtier crude oil” speak directly to Alberta’s world brand. Those three little words just cost Alberta an enormous amount of money. Now it has acknowledged that it has to define it’s brand away from that perception. It will be a steep hill, but the incentive to accomplish this task is imperative. What was off the radar is now front and centre.
Some out west may argue that Alberta’s oil is no dirtier than other providers. The fact is the perception on the street. And if dirty oil is the reputation that that’s their brand like it or not. Perception is everything in branding and so is authentic. Authenticity means that it can’t be a band-aid fix but a genuine fix that changes the perception. A huge challenge given the scope of the tar sands. The simple fact that I refer to it as the tar sands plays on the dirty oil perception.
It will be interesting to see what government and industry do to satisfy environmentalists who frown on their industry as a plane killer. One thing is for sure – they’ll have plenty of critics watching their every move. I’d advise them to find environmental allies that once seeing their “genuine” interest for change maybe one day becoming advocates rather than detractors. I huge task but doable if the proper resources are pitched into the battle.
