bp’s Alyssa Callahan is leading a marketing and digital transformation at the retail chain, which soon will be known for a lot more than petrol.
“bp brands enjoy strong consumer recognition and trust,” says Callahan. “As we expand our footprint in both fuel and convenience, I’m now focused on elevating bp’s reputation as a leader in digital innovation and modern marketing.”
With iconic names like Amoco, the all-American fuel stop, alongside ampm, the home of crave-venience, Thorntons and TravelCenters of America serving roadtrippers and highway travelers, bp has built a network that’s not only expansive, but also deeply connected to the communities they serve.
“One of my key priorities as CMO is to unify our brand portfolio in a way that resonates with consumers through a shared, digitally connected ecosystem,” says Callahan. “We are evolving beyond our legacy as a fuel provider and building an experience that seamlessly integrates convenience, mobility, and technology. It’s about creating a smarter, more connected journey for the future consumer.”
Prior to joining bp, Callahan held senior roles at L’Oreal and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Brand Innovators caught up with Callahan from her office in New York to discuss how the brand is expanding its offerings, growing its loyalty program and how women are helping drive the soul of modern marketing, a topic that she will discuss in a panel at the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit in New York October 6-9. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How are you telling the story that bp is more than gasoline?
Fuel is a necessity, not a passion; it’s invisible, transactional, and rarely memorable. That’s why we’re investing in experiences that go beyond the fuel pump. Our new mobile app, earnify, is a key part of that strategy. It’s so much more than your typical rewards app, we’re redefining what it means to engage with bp. I want consumers to feel something when they choose us: whether it’s the joy of discovering something new in the convenience store or the ease of a seamless digital experience. My vision is to transform bp from a fuel brand into a digitally powered lifestyle brand that consumers actively choose and emotionally connect with.
How are you driving customers to engage with the program?
Our app is truly best-in-class. It’s built for speed, simplicity, and seamless engagement. In under 30 seconds, users can download, register, and start fueling. It’s a completely contactless experience: activate the pump from your phone, store multiple payment options in your wallet, pay quickly, and earn rewards in real-time. The interface is animated and intuitive, and it delivers real-time rewards and an always-on fuel reward. Members earn points on both fuel and convenience purchases, and can stack offers for even greater value. Through strategic partnerships with Axonet and Amazon Prime, we’re enriching the experience even further with exclusive in-app offers and seamless integrations. The UX is clean, focused, designed to drive engagement, and performance is exceptional. This is how we’re redefining the fuel experience, by turning a routine transaction into a digitally powered, rewarding moment that keeps customers coming back.
At the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit, you’re going to be talking about how women are helping drive the soul of modern marketing. Can you share your perspective on this topic?
I love this topic. To me, soul is a word that holds depth beyond definition. When you lead with soul, you bring your values into your work. That changes everything. I’m fortunate to work for an organization that mirrors my values, especially bp’s deep commitment to “care for others” and “do the right thing”. These are embedded in how I lead, how I listen, and how I build experiences.
From my earliest days working in a retail store, I’ve always had a heightened awareness of how customers are feeling at the moment. I bring empathy into every conversation, and I’ll pause a project if it doesn’t guarantee a positive experience for the end user. I’ll rethink an initiative if it doesn’t put the customer at the heart of the objective.
When you combine that emotional connection with the precision of data and the personalization capabilities of modern marketing, you unlock something truly powerful. As a leader, there are countless metrics you can analyze, but to me the most important one is sentiment. I leave the rest to my incredible team. I care less about campaign results on paper and more about what customers are saying on social media, in reviews, and in conversations. I read every comment. I talk to consumers and operators. I dig into our research. Because sentiment is the truth. It’s the soul of the brand. And women, I believe, are uniquely equipped to lead with that kind of truth.
Can you talk about what your approach is to innovation?
Our approach to digital innovation is to build products that improve experiences for our consumers and operators. Our mobile app was the first major step in bp’s digital journey. It was designed with the consumer at the center. But we’re not stopping there. Our locations are operated by dealers, franchisees, and team members, and these are my customers too. Many bp sites are locally owned and operated, and it’s my responsibility to ensure the brand delivers the tools and technology they need to grow.
To better serve these operators, we’re expanding our digital ecosystem with products that connect seamlessly to our mobile app. In 2026, we’ll launch croscourt, our retail operating system, which will empower retail sites to engage guests in smarter, more personalized ways, across all corners of the site, from the gas pumps in the forecourt to the store in the backcourt. This includes an AI-driven support line that proactively monitors on-site systems, and a proprietary cloud-based point-of-sale system designed to deliver tailored in-store experiences.
Our goal is to offer a full stack of digital solutions—not just for fuel, but for every touchpoint of the site experience. Because our operators are the most important part of the marketing funnel. When the in-person experience is backed by powerful digital tools, it becomes not just functional, but unforgettable.
How have your past experiences at other brands helped shape your current perspective?
I’ve had the opportunity to work across retail, hospitality, and beauty. Each industry has taught me something unique about how to connect with consumers. What’s been consistent throughout is my laser focus on the end user. Regardless of the product, understanding the frequency of purchase and how to communicate value in a simple, memorable way is the essence of marketing.
In hospitality, the on-site experience is everything. A guest’s stay at a hotel can leave a lasting impression that no campaign can replicate. It’s deeply personal, immersive, and emotional. In beauty, it’s all about personalization, knowing what products a customer might want based on past behavior and making every interaction feel tailored and relevant and inspirational.
Fuel, by contrast, is a high-frequency, need-based purchase. It’s invisible, transactional, and often overlooked. But that’s where the opportunity lies. By combining the emotional intelligence of hospitality with the personalization of beauty, we can transform the fuel experience into something more meaningful.
What sets fuel apart is the challenge (what I like to see as the potential) of creating value where it’s not inherently felt. That’s why I focus so heavily on sentiment. People will disengage faster than you think if the experience doesn’t resonate. The voice of the customer is my compass. Learning across industries has helped me build a marketing approach that’s both empathetic and data-driven. It’s about finding the balance between clarity and connection, between what we say and how it makes people feel.”
What are the key marketing trends you’re thinking about as you head into 2026?
Many of the trends in marketing today center around personalization at scale, largely driven by e-commerce. But in our world, we’re brick and mortar, you can’t buy fuel online. That’s why our mobile app has become our version of an e-commerce platform: it’s the digital companion to the physical experience. Once you’re on-site, it becomes the tool that completes your transaction quickly, seamlessly, and with added value.
Driving app adoption is my top priority, not because it’s trendy, but because it’s transformational and it’s an amazing experience. We’re also beginning to use AI to adapt content at scale, which allows us to quickly tailor messaging based on segment, location, behavior, and preferences. This allows us to maintain consistency while still speaking directly to individual consumers in a way that feels personal and timely. I’m especially intrigued by the future of voice technology, particularly as self-driving cars become more mainstream.
Voice will play a critical role in how consumers interact with brands on the move, and I’m exploring how to integrate that into our experience ecosystem. Ultimately, it’s about meeting consumers where they are digitally, emotionally, and physically, and then creating a frictionless journey that feels both intuitive and rewarding. I’m not chasing every trend, I’m only interested in trends that enable this vision.
