BP: Celebrating its legacy

Simple means lift a corporate résumé.

The Site

BP, the UK-based oil major, brings its corporate résumé to life.

BP provides a comprehensive Our history sub-section within Who we are covering its “family” of five brand companies as well as the evolution of the main company. The sub-section opens with a Flash timeline that integrates the company stories, with an option to highlight milestone events in the history of each.

This is augmented by a History of BP in six chapters, from First Oil to the New Millennium. The history is notably well-written and engaging,

The Takeaway

History is pretty much a universal element of ‘about us’ sections yet in so many cases little sense is conveyed of pride in the organisation’s legacy or achievements. Lists of milestone dates, with or without dry captions, or a roll call of mergers and acquisitions make for dull and uninspiring reading. Imagine you’re an HR director and such a history is a career résumé or CV, and you get some idea of the likely impression on employees and customers current and potential.

What BP demonstrates in its main history is the value of an engaging presentation and well-crafted narrative that uses subtle humour and human stories to lend a real sense of the pioneering spirit behind the growth of a major organisation. It’s simple, but it leaves an impression, though the brand company histories inevitably pale in comparison.

First published on 29 May, 2008