Big oil companies pay influencers handsomely to influence young people
Even petroleum wants to feel young. Big oil and gas companies like Exxon Mobil Corp and Shell Plc partner with social media influencers and PR firms to help them target millennials and younger generations, as Business Insider reports. According to the publication, more than 100 influencers have partnered with oil companies since 2017.
“They are trying to win the trust of a younger generation. They're not just promoting a particular product, they're trying to change their perception in the public eye and maintain their social image,” Sam Bright, DeSmog's UK deputy director, told the Post.
“Many are unaware that we are also investing, in a disciplined manner, billions in low-carbon products and solutions to support a balanced energy transition. Making customers aware of these products through social media advertising is one of the ways we drive business performance and a valuable part of our marketing efforts ,” Shell spokesman Curtis Smith told The Post.
“ ExxonMobil, like many other companies, works with influencers to educate consumers about all the benefits of our rewards program ,” ExxonMobil spokeswoman Julie King told Insider.
Nora Capistrano Sangalang, a TikTok and Instagram influencer with 1.7 million followers, partnered with Shell to promote her loyalty program, while Meredith Steele, a TikTok influencer with 1 million followers, partnered with ExxonMobil last year to promote its application of awards.
But the big oil companies aren't working alone. Edelman, a public relations firm, is working with Shell to promote it to millennials and younger audiences.
“The company has engaged Edelman to give millennials a reason to connect emotionally with Shell's commitment to a sustainable future. We needed them to forget their 'big oil' bias and think differently about Shell,” Edelman's website reads.
Sustainable companies or companies that wish to appear sustainable
Exxon Mobil's new "Low Carbon" segment is the kind of sustainable business that Big Oil is desperately trying to be identified with by the younger generation.
In February, Exxon ended its 14-year algae biofuel project, becoming the latest oil company to abandon what was once considered the fuel of the future. The idea, however, was not without its merits. Algae have some clear advantages over other biofuel candidates, mainly because these photosynthetic microorganisms are super efficient at converting sunlight into biomass, have high lipid content, up to 80% for some varieties , and are more versatile than other biofuel candidates. , for example, to corn, a common crop for biofuels.
Unfortunately, Exxon and its Big Oil cohorts have found it too difficult to make the economics of algal biofuels competitive with that of much cheaper crude oil: Algae bioproducts company Cellana has estimated that crude oil should reach $500 a barrel for algal biofuels to compete successfully.
But Exxon does not intend to give up on its non-oil ventures. In April, Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods told investors that the company's low-carbon business has the potential to surpass its oil and gas businesses within a decade and generate hundreds of billions in revenue. Woods outlined projections showing the business has the potential to reach billions of dollars in revenue within the next five years, tens of billions in 5-10 years, and hundreds of billions after the initial 10-year expansion phase .
However, whether Exxon can achieve its dream will depend on regulatory and policy support for carbon pricing, as well as costs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, among other changes, Ammann said. That is, if the states do not harshly punish carbon emissions there will be no possibility of making low-carb activities truly profitable.
Exxon believes this will result in a “much more stable, or less cyclical” industry, less prone to commodity price swings, thanks to long-term, predictable contracts with customers looking to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, Exxon recently signed a long-term agreement with industrial gases company Linde Plc to purchase carbon dioxide associated with Linde's clean hydrogen project in Beaumont, Texas. Exxon will transport and permanently store up to 2.2 million metric tons per year of carbon dioxide from the Linde facility. TO
February, Linde unveiled plans to build a $1.8 billion complex that will include autothermal reforming with carbon capture and a large air separation plant to supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen.
Exxon isn't the only major oil company pursuing large-scale carbon capture. In February, oilfield services company Schlumberger Ltd spoke about its new SLB New Energy unit. According to Gavin Rennick, president of SLB New Energy, the goal is impact and scale, with the new mantra “Target Billion-Dollar Opportunities Only”. And, just like Exxon, Schlumberger has big dreams for his new business: Rennick told BNEF that the unit should reach $3 billion in revenue by the end of the current decade and at least $10 billion by the end. of the next decade.
However, all these accounts are based on the fact that the states subsidize ex-oil companies as they wish and tax oil heavily and consistently, and for this they are precisely trying to create political support among young people.
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The article Big oil companies pay influencers handsomely to influence young people comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/le-grandi-societa-petrolifere-pagano-profumatamente-gli-influencer-per-condizionare-i-giovani/ on Tue, 22 Aug 2023 09:00:30 +0000.