CITGO, the oil refiner and gasoline marketer faces a number of brand challenges. Is there a place here for cause marketing? The average gas price in the United States is currently $3.88 a gallon, according to a report in yesterday’s USA Today , with at least half a dozen states reporting $4 a gallon gas. Unlike our compatriots in Europe, Americans are entirely unaccustomed to high gasoline prices. It’s no exaggeration to say that President Obama’s chances of reelection in 2012 hinge, in part, on how high fuel prices stay. Pundits suggest that if gas prices nationwide in November 2011 are above $4, President Obama’s chances aren’t good. CITGO has been owned in its entirety since 1990 by Petroleos de Venezuela, the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company. CITGO, therefore, is effectively controlled by Hugo Chavez, the autocratic president of Venezuela who has no love for the United States, and who has expressed his feelings about the USA frequently and venomously. Moreover, CITGO has be...
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