A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON HOW THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND ADAPTED ITS 2014 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN EARTH HOUR IN SWEDEN AND TURKEY
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON HOW
THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND
ADAPTED ITS 2014
ENVIRONMENTAL
COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN
EARTH HOUR IN SWEDEN AND
TURKEY
Melisa Elif Bergström
Media and communication studies C-course thesis submitted to the
Department of Informatics and Media, Uppsala University of Media
and Communication Studies
Supervisor Cecilia Strand
Abstrakt Klimatförändringar är ett allvarligt problem som hotar vår planet och alla dess invånare. Världsnaturfonden (World Wildlife Fund) arbetar för att minimera och förhindra de skrämmande konsekvenser som vi oundvikligen kommer att möta om vi fortsätter att leva och konsumera som vi gör. Earth Hour- kampanjen är deras viktigaste kampanj som stöder den gröna rörelsen mot klimatförändringar. Earth Hour blev en succé från dag ett i 2007 i Sydney och spred sig snabbt över hela världen och blev en globalt känd händelse. Earth Hour lyckades skapa medvetenhet och föra allmänhetens uppmärksamhet till ämnet. Klimatförändringen fick stort nyhetsvärde i massmedia och genom sociala medier blev den större. Att använda kändisar var ett bra sätt att öka medvetenheten och sprida WWFs budskap som tex. i Turkiet. Sverige gick en annan väg för att ta itu med det globala uppvärmning problemet de kontaktade politikerna direkt. Earth Hour 2014 kommunikationskampanj analyserades och jämfördes genom intervjuer med representanter för WWF i Sverige och Turkiet. Jag strävar efter att göra en djupare analys på likheter och skillnader mellan dem. Det är intressant att se hur en global organisation genomför sin kommunikationskampanj "Earth Hour" annorlunda i två kulturellt separata länder för att ta itu med samma problem. Nyckelord: Klimatförändringar, Earth Hour, Miljö Kommunikationskampanj
Abstract Climate change is a serious problem that threatens our planet and all its inhabitants. The World Wildlife Fund puts a great deal of effort to minimize the devastating effects and prevent the frightening consequences that the humanity will inevitably face if we do not alter our approach. Addressing this issue, the Earth Hour campaign is the organization’s most important campaign supporting the green movement against climate change. The campaign was a success from day one in 2007 in Sydney and quickly spread around the world achieving global recognition. The campaign managed to create awareness and bring the public's attention to the subject. For example, climate change gained great news value in the mass media and through social media, it became greater. Various methods were employed for the promotion of the campaign. In Turkey, celebrity endorsement proved successful in raising awareness and conveying the WWF's message. Sweden took a different path to address the global warming problem and contacted politicians directly. In the current study, the Earth Hour 2014 communication campaigns in Sweden and Turkey were analysed and compared. Data for the study were collected through interviews with representatives of WWF in Sweden and Turkey. With its findings, the study provides valuable insights into the similarities and differences between two campaigns. It is noteworthy to see how a global organization conducts its "Earth Hour" communication campaign differently in two culturally separate countries to address the same problem. Keywords: Climate change, Earth Hour, Environment Communication, Narrative Framing, Symbolic Action, Environmental Advocacy Campaigns
Acknowledgement This body of work would not have existed without the invaluable insights and constant support of my adorable supervisor Mrs. Cecilia Strand. Therefore, I would like to sincerely thank her for her feedback, wise guidance, contribution, and constructive comments in writing this thesis. I also would like to thank Barbara Evaeus, a communication officer from the World Wildlife Foundation Sweden Climate Office, and Tuğba Uğur, a communication officer from the World Wildlife Foundation in Turkey, for their invaluable contributions, kind reception, and valuable insights during the interviews. I would like to express my gratitude to my family, my mother Maud Akgüder, father Mehmet Akgüder, my sister Esin Sara Akgüder, also my partner Ebrima Chandum and last but not the least my friend Merve Mutlu for their immense support that eased the process in writing this thesis with their encouragement and love. Finally, I would like to devote my thesis to my lovely grandparents, my grandfather Arne Bergström and my late grandmother Ellen Bergström. Although they passed away a while ago; their memories remain close to my heart. I thank them for teaching me from an early age that hard work pays off and inspiring me to finish what I start. I owe most of it to their unconditional love and belief that I can overcome any obstacle in life, and they are proud of me no matter what.
Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 10
1.1. Research question ............................................................................ 12
1.2. Further questions and purpose ......................................................... 14
1.3. Limitations ....................................................................................... 15
2. DISPOSITION ....................................................................................... 16
3. BACKGROUND .................................................................................... 18
3.1. Environmental awareness in Sweden vs Turkey ............................. 18
3.2. WWF Earth Hour in Sweden and Turkey ........................................ 19
3.3. Climate Change and WWF .............................................................. 22
3.4. WWF as an NGO and its role in communicating climate change ... 24
3.5. Mediating Nature ............................................................................. 27
3.6. Symbolic action ............................................................................... 27
3.7. Condensation symbol ....................................................................... 28
3.8. The objective of a campaign ............................................................ 29
3.8.1. How to mobilize support .......................................................... 29
3.8.2. Advocacy campaign ................................................................. 31
4. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ..................................................................... 32
4.1. Identification of previous research .................................................. 32
5. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................... 34
5.1. Identification theory and celebrity endorsement ............................. 34
5.2. Traditional Campaign model of communication theory .................. 35
5.2.1. How Communication Campaigns Succeed .............................. 35
5.2.2. Understanding a campaign through its 4 basic elements ......... 35
5.2.3. The 7 factors that contribute to the success of a campaign ...... 37
5.3. Traditional Campaign Model ........................................................... 38
5.4. Environmental communication through symbolic actions .............. 40
5.4.1. Pragmatic communication........................................................ 40
5.4.2. Social media as symbolic action .............................................. 42
5.4.3. Public sphere as discursive space............................................. 42
5.4.4. Narrative framing and agenda-setting theory........................... 43
5.5. Theoretical reflection ....................................................................... 45
6. METHODOLOGY AND MATERIAL ............................................... 46
6.1. Research design ............................................................................... 46
6.1.1. Qualitative and comparative text analysis................................ 466.1.2. Empirical positioning ............................................................... 47
6.1.3. Organizing the analytical tools................................................. 47
6.1.4. Gathered material ..................................................................... 48
6.1.5. Creating comparable relevant interview questions for the
communication campaigns in Earth Hour 2014 Sweden and Turkey . 49
6.1.6. Mapping and coding................................................................. 50
6.1.7. Open coding process ................................................................ 51
6.2. Limitations of the method ................................................................ 52
6.3. Reliability and ethical consideration................................................ 52
7. RESULTS and ANALYSIS .................................................................. 54
7.1. Results .............................................................................................. 54
7.1.1. The Earth Hour 2014 Campaign in Turkey.............................. 54
7.1.2. Turkish Earth Hour Report....................................................... 56
7.1.3. Web page and Social Media..................................................... 57
7.2. The Earth Hour 2014 in Sweden...................................................... 57
7.2.1. Swedish Earth Hour Report ..................................................... 60
7.3. Differences and similarities through content analysis and open
coding between the two countries in Earth Hour 2014 ............................ 60
7.3.1. Result of content analysis through framing communication
theory .................................................................................................. 61
7.4. Analysis ........................................................................................... 68
8. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 74
8.1. Feedback on the research question .................................................. 74
8.2. Discussion related to previous research ........................................... 75
8.3. Critical reflection of the study ......................................................... 76
8.4. Contribution ..................................................................................... 77
8.5. Further research ............................................................................... 77
REFERENCES ........................................................................................... 79
APPENDICES ............................................................................................. 83
PRESS RELEASE ...................................................................................... 85List of Figures Figure 1 ‘Ecological Footprint’ by Melisa Bergström ........................21 Figure 2 Turkey’s ecological footprint in comparison with that of Sweden’s ............................................................................................24 Figure 3 Examples of the Earth Hour campaign posters designed by various organizations in Turkey ........................................................68
List of Tables Table 1. Comparison of Turkey and Sweden based on the traditional campaign model …………….…………………………………….....………. 60 Table 2. Comparison of Turkey and Sweden based on the seven factors that contribute to a campaign’s success ……………………………….….…... 63 8
Abbreviations
WWF World Wild Fund for Nature
EH Earth Hour
NGO Non-governmental organization
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
WMO World Meteorological Organization
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
ibid The source is the same as the previous one
91. Introduction
WWF’s (World Wildlife Fund) Earth Hour campaign is a successful example
of an NGO’s (Non-Govermental Organization) effort to save the planet. An
event called Earth Hour has been organized annually in March by WWF,
where people are encouraged to show their support for the fight against
climate change by turning off their lights for one hour. The campaign, having
started in one country, has gone viral over the years and turned into a global
one. Today, it is among the most well-known global environmental
communication campaigns. WWF works on local environmental projects with
a global perspective which they call local to global, which means that local
changes will have global impacts and every action counts.
“Our efforts ensure that the value of nature is reflected in decision-
making from a local to a global scale.”
(Worldwildlife, 2021)
We live in one world and imaginary borders are what seperates us. People
often ignore the far reaching consequences of their actions and act as if they
only affect their immediate surroundings. The truth is that what we do in one
country affects other people in various countries. If the nations of the world
do not adopt a sustainable life soon, the world we have known might be gone
forever. Everybody in this world has to contribute to a healthier and more
sustainable lifestyle. We must realize and keep in mind that we all are on the
same ship (Randers, 2012).
Utopia would be where everyone shared equally and lived together in
harmony with the wildlife and nature. To reach this utopian lifestyle is a very
crooked road, full of challenges. One aspect of this is that energy consumption
around the world is uneven and unfair. While we try to live more sustainably,
the biggest problem is the energy problems that we face and the consequences
of our energy supply options. As much as we wish to find sustainable options
10and solutions, we have to be realistic. On such a big scale, handling this
problem is difficult because it is almost impossible to address this problem
without leading to the emergence of other environmental problems.
Climate change has come into the limelight through campaigns prepared by
NGOs such as WWF and campaigns they create such as the Earth Hour
campaign. Nowadays, people understand the world around them through
media exposure. The environmental problems are communicated through
mediation with relatable symbolic actions used in the campaigns (Cox, 2013).
WWF’s green movement Earth Hour emphasizes the importance of our
world's wellbeing, climate change, and its effects on our planet. Earth Hour
has globally communicated environmental enlightenment and managed to
communicate it to the masses. The Earth Hour campaign has spread rapidly
worldwide and reached a wider global audience who has forced the media to
bring up the situation into their headlines (Worldwildlife, 2021).
Environmental organizations’ primary purposes are to raise awareness and
educate people about environmental issues. It is easier said than done as
achieving these goals are linked to many different aspects and bears many
fundamental questions to address. How do these organizations manage that?
Do they manage to reach all their targeted audience through their
communication campaigns? How does one of the most prominent ecological
organizations on earth, with its most famous campaign Earth Hour, manage to
reach out to people? What are the challenges Earth Hour faces? To address
such questions and gain insights into their relentless effort to cope with
inherent challenges, the current research is undertaken. In the current study,
the authors attempt to explore and compare WWF’s communication strategies
in Sweden and Turkey and hopefully enlighten the reader regarding the
design, implementation, and outcome of the strategies. In that sense, the study
is thought to critically analyze the organization’s operating methods in
11different countries with special reference to local dynamics and maintaining a
global perspective. This study also aims to assist the WWF research and
practices by mapping out how the Earth Hour communication campaigns are
adapted regionally (Boyce and Lewis, 2009). To conclude, the current study
is a qualitative comparative study of how WWF’s global Earth Hour
Campaign 2014, which took place on Saturday, March 29th, 2014, between
8.30 pm and 9.30 pm, was carried out in Turkey versus Sweden. The global
theme was “Are you showing your love for the planet?” It was emphasized
that it was for climate change’s sake. The findings of this study are meant to
be educational and help those who design and implement environmental
communication campaigns understand what can be improved in order to
communicate more effectively to audiences both locally and globally.
The author has ties to both countries as half Turk and half Sweden and is
familiar with both cultures and speaks both languages very well. These two
countries were chosen intentionally as the author believes that it is important
to see and understand how a communication campaign is implemented in two
countries with totally different cultures to achieve a common global goal.
The author personally has long followed and admired WWF’s projects for the
environment. The 2014 campaign served as a critical case in that Sweden
decided to follow a different path from the global Earth Hour campaign theme
and choose their own theme, while Turkey stuck to the global theme as they
used celebrities and adjusted the global campaign accordingly.
1.1. Research question
The main guiding question of the study is as follows:
• How does WWF (World Wildlife Fund) adapt its environmental
awareness campaign Earth Hour in Sweden and Turkey?
12As well as addressing this research question, this study also investigates
various forms of environmental communication that exist to raise awareness
for environmental challenges in targeted societies. That is, an in-depth
perspective into how WWF operated in two different countries in 2014 Earth
Hour, is presented.
It is noteworthy to state that the author does not intend to conclude that one
country is doing better than the other. Indeed, both countries are making
valuable contributions to fighting climate change through multiple ways. On
the other hand, this research might highlight some differences between their
campaigns, through which one can be influenced positively and might want to
make further adaptations within the communication part and therefore
communicate better to tackle climate change better. One must always keep in
mind, while reading this research, that these two countries are very different
regarding their geography, culture, socio-economic structures etc. Therefore,
they have their own ways of dealing with their environmental problems.
Therefore, the research is designed in a way that focuses on the comparison
of how they adapt their communication for the Earth Hour 2014 campaign in
order to battle their own challenges. This research is mainly based on
environmental communication through symbolic action theory with agenda
setting-narrative framing theory. The study’s background, relevance, the
definition of relevant terms, and the hypotheses are presented in the literature
review section.
“The information we are exposed to affects our interpretations of the
world and ourselves; how we feel, how we think, what we do.”
(Lundgren, 2000, p. 193)
Agenda setting and narrative framing theory from Cox (2013) and the
traditional campaign model of Communication theory from Windahl et al.
13(2008) was employed to understand how the organization structured its
campaigns in Turkey and Sweden.
The four basic elements of communication campaign together with Nowak
and Wärneryd’s (1985) information campaign traditional model were used in
the process of structuring the interview questions to measure the success of
each campaign. The identification theory was introduced as it is relevant to
the celebrity endorsement of the campaign. At the heart of this research lies
the question of how environmental communication campaigns play a crucial
role in creating a collective awareness of climate change. The purpose of this
comparative study, details of the method employed and theoretical approach,
are presented in the methodology section. In the analysis and finding’s part,
the effectiveness of WWF’s campaigns in both countries is discussed. In the
conclusion part, key findings are discussed and suggestions for further
research is presented.
1.2. Further questions and purpose
The general purpose of this study is to be able to explore and gain insights into
how environmental communication campaigns reach their intended
audiences. Data for the study were collected through communication materials
such as printed media, social media, and face to face interviews. In line with
the purpose and main guiding questions of the study, the current research
seeks to address following sub-questions:
• What were the two countries’ methods and the challenges in
communicating their messages successfully?
• What were the pros and cons of celebrity endorsement in the Earth Hour
environmental communication campaigns 2014 in Sweden and Turkey?
• What similarities and/or differences were observed in the Earth Hour
environmental communication campaigns 2014 in Sweden and in Turkey?
• What were the challenges associated with the Earth Hour environmental
communication campaigns 2014 in Sweden and in Turkey?
14• What were the objectives that define the Earth Hour environmental
communication campaign's success and failure in 2014 in Sweden and in
Turkey?
1.3. Limitations
The current study is limited to its analyses of the Earth Hour environmental
communication campaigns in 2014 in Sweden and Turkey to present an
example of how a global campaign adapts its campaign locally in order to send
its message to a larger mass more effectively and efficiently. Comparison of
the Earth Hour campaigns in different countries and years would probably
reveal other interesting findings. Another limitation might be that the socio-
economic backgrounds, political situations, and consumption behaviours of
the two countries were not considered. The study was only focused on how
the campaigns were communicated.
152. DISPOSITION In this part, all the building blocks that play a crucial role in constructing this thesis are explained thoroughly. First, some background information that will guide the reader understand the bigger picture is presented. Then, related research that emphasizes the importance of environmental communication and NGOs is presented in the ’previous research’ section. In the theoretical framework section, explanations regarding the theories employed within the scope of the study and the review information are given to help map out Sweden and Turkey’s environmental communication campaigns’ adaptation methods and make them more vivid to the readers’ comprehension. Accordingly, environmental communication through symbolic action, narrative framing theory, identification theory, and last but not the least traditional communication campaign methods are described and their relevance to the cases are explained. In the methods section, the methods used to gather and analyse the communication materials are explained in detail. Additionally, the interview questions, their formulation and selection are provided along with additional information regarding their relevance to the study. This section ends with a descriptive critical analysis of the methods and ethical considerations. In the results and analysis chapter, the results of Turkey’s and Sweden’s 2014 EH are documented respectively. This is followed by a comparative analysis of the results of both countries. These campaign results are compared with the help of the so-called traditional campaign model communication theory by Windahl, Signitzer and Olson (2008) in order to measure the success and effects of the campaign both locally and globally. Finally, in the discussion chapter, all the findings are tied back to the purpose and research questions of the study and discussed accordingly. The findings and implications of the 16
current study relate to the previous research and reflections and insights
gained are provided.
173. BACKGROUND
3.1. Environmental awareness in Sweden vs Turkey
“Nature is a big part of a Swede’s life; a Swedish person spends a lot
of time in the forests, meanwhile in other countries being in forests
might be associated with danger.”
Barbra Evaeus, the EH correspondent for Swedish WWF
This might keep people in other countries from experiencing nature as people
in Sweden do, as they might not feel safe in the forests. Nature for Swedes is
almost like a religion, so people care about nature very much. Even in the
urban parts of the country or metropolitan areas, there is access to the green.
Swedish people are used to, for example, sorting their garbage from many
generations back. On the other hand, Tuğba Uğur, EH correspondent for
Turkish WWF, stated that in Turkey the environmental mentality that supports
this action or the garbage stations where you can sort the garbage does not
exist. So, the infrastructure that should support these systems is not available
for everyone in Turkey. Although some people try to sort rubbish on their
own, they are not able to accomplish this as all garbage is put together without
regard to what type of garbage they are. The Swedish WWF and Turkish
WWF are well aware of the environmental awareness of each country, which
is the reason why Swedish EH differentiated their EH campaign from the
global one and designed its own. It seems to be a very smart move and might
inspire other countries to follow their route. It also suggests that Earth Hour is
a global campaign; but it is and should be adopted locally.
The less interaction there is with nature as in big cities, the more distanced
people living there feel from nature. However, in general people in Turkey
live close to nature whether it is by the sea, near forest or up on mountains;
which indicates that nature plays an important role for people in Turkey as
well, but it is a long way for Turkish mentality to reach the environmental
18awareness Swedish people have, especially from the decision-makers point of
view. Stakeholders that are in the position of making decisions mostly
prioritize profit over preserving nature. For example, the deforestation of Kaz
mountains for gold mining has devastating effects not only due to
deforestation but also because of the use of chemicals, which dramatically
destroy both the land and the water and disturb fragile ecosystems (Özen and
Özen, 2018)
Recently, Turkish government has witnessed protests the deforestation of
Ikizdere, in the Black Sea region, when it wanted to open a new mine. Locals
are fighting to preserve their forest and nature while the state is resorting to
law enforcement to silence the local citizens. It seems that there is a very long
way to make your voice heard and be the voice to the ones that do not have
their voices such as animals that are getting affected (BBC, 2021)
3.2. WWF Earth Hour in Sweden and Turkey
By mobilizing masses, Earth Hour creates public opinion in order to affect
stakeholders such as politicians and decision-makers. The First Earth Hour
took place in 2007 in Australia. Earth hour participation rates from 2007 to
2014 are as follows:
• In 2007, 2.2 million people, 2.100 businesses, and 1 country Australia
participated.
• In 2008, 50 million people, 35 countries, and 371 cities participated.
• In 2009, Hundreds of millions of people, 88 countries, and 4000 cities
participated
• In 2010, 128 countries and 4616 cities participated.
• In 2011, 135 countries and 5251 cities participated.
• In 2012, 152 countries and 6950 cities participated.
• In 2013, 154 countries participated.
19• In 2014, Hundreds of millions of people, 162 countries, and 7000 cities
participated. And in 2014 Earth Hour changed its symbolic colour from
green to blue 2014 to raise awareness of sustainable energies and new
technologies.
The global EH 2014 Campaign name was “Use your power to make change a
reality.” Sweden’s EH 2014 Campaign name was 4Bs: Bilen, Börsen,
Bostaden och Biffen meaning the car, the stock market, the home, and the
meat. Turkey’s EH 2014 campaign motto was Varim dedin iyi ki dedin!,
translated as You said you were up for it, good that you said it!
Both Sweden and Turkey signed the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement to
take precautions against the greenhouse effects. Yet, evidence supporting that
Turkey has taken any major steps to minimize the greenhouse gas emission is
scarce. In a policy paper written by Dr. Erkan Erdoğdu at Cambridge
University, UK, Turkey's contribution to the Kyoto Protocol so far is stated to
be minimal.
“On February 5, 2009, Turkish Parliament ratified an agreement to
sign the Kyoto Protocol after intense pressure from both the European
Union and international environmental organizations; however, so far
it has not taken any steps to bring about real reductions in emissions”.
(Erdogdu, 2010)
As stated above Turkey’s contribution is questionable, though this does not
mean that Turkey is unwilling to make any contribution. Turkish Ministry of
Environment and Urbanization has recently published an environmental
strategic plan that covers the years 2010-2023, which is indicative that there
is a will and work towards reducing GHG emissions and preventing global
warming (Çevre ve Şehircilik Bakanlığı, 2021).
20On the other hand, in Sweden, an online newspaper on 18th December 2007
went put with the headline ‘Sweden is beating Kyoto emissions targets’ and
claiming that between 1990 and 2006 Sweden managed to minimize its
greenhouse gas emissions by nine percent. Hannes Borg, the Swedish
environment minister, said according to the Kyoto Protocol signed, Sweden
could increase its emissions by 4 percent. Instead, Sweden managed to
decrease it by 9 percent which meant that Sweden reduced its emissions by 12
percent (The Local, 2007). According to a recent article at swedishepa.se on
20th December 2016, emissions in Sweden have decreased by 25% since
1990. The mass movement and growing public awareness have contributed to
this huge reduction in emissions.
On the other hand, another news story at Local.se on 30th September 2014
states that according to WWF measures, Sweden’s global footprint requires
3,5 planets to sustain their way of living (The Local, 2014). This means if
everyone would live like a person in Sweden, the world would need 3,5
planets of sources to compensate (The Local, 2014). Meanwhile, Turkey’s
footprint is as big as 1,5 planets according to WWF 2012 report (Footprint
Network, 2012). WWF has been working in Sweden for 30 years longer than
in Turkey. WWF was established in Sweden in 1971 while it was established
in 1996 in Turkey (WWF, 2021).
In 2014, it was noticed that WWF’s Earth Hour campaign in Sweden took
another turn and changed its communication strategy for the campaign by
diverging from the global campaign theme. In comparison, Turkey stuck to
the global campaign’s superstar theme where famous people sent messages to
the masses in the form of short videos. Because of this, the author picked the
year 2014 to explore and compare the media communication campaign
strategies of the two countries as she believed the contrast would reveal
valuable information.
21“The poorest people on earth will be the ones who are most affected
by the consequences of climate change” (Cox, 2013)
Figure 1 ‘Ecological Footprint’ by Melisa Bergström
3.3. Climate Change and WWF
Increasing access to various forms of energy has dramatically contributed to
the advancement of the society. Since the 19th century, industrialization and
access to energy in our daily lives have improved as everything has become
more practical, and we have been introduced to products and types of food
that we lacked before. Enjoying our morning coffee is a brilliant example of
this. This trend of consumption increased the need for energy. While the
developed countries provide their energy needs from their own resources, they
also continue to consume the third world countries’ energy resources to
22maintain their ever-growing energy needs. Consuming this much energy,
especially those from harmful sources such as fossil fuels, comes with a great
price. It costs the planet’s well-being. Energy consumption from fossil fuels
contributes to climate change (Vinger, 2012).
Anthropogenic climate change is one of the greatest threats that humankind is
facing. It’s devastating potential in creating death and disease and disturbing
fragile ecosystems threatens life and may lead to the extinction of many
species. Critical though it is, it is not hopeless as humanity can reverse this
trend before it is too late. If we act in a timely manner, we might be lucky
enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change. (Boyce and Lewis. 2009)
“UN report says that unless governments act now to reduce emissions,
no one will be safe from the effects of climate change!” (Goldenberg,
2014)
We see the consequences of climate change most in the form of extreme
weather conditions, causing devastation around the world and the year is just
2021. The report could not be more accurate. According to IPCC (The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2018), climate change and
increased temperatures will have a devastating, severe, and irreversible impact
on ecosystems, human systems and animal and plant species. The ones that
will suffer most will be those experiencing poverty. Since water supplies and
food production get affected and food prices increase, world societies will be
more and more insecure about whether to have food or not, which, in turn,
also increases the risk of escalating violent conflicts between groups and
governments/countries. We can also count climate-related extremes such as
increased wildfires, heatwaves, droughts, floods as a direct effect on humans,
animals, and sensitive ecosystems. (Boyce and Lewis, 2009)
The assessment of climate change is done by IPCC (2018) and it is the UN's
body that assesses science that has to do with climate change. The aim of its
23establishment in 1988 was to provide the world with a clear scientific view on
the current knowledge of climate change and its consequences for the
environment and socio-economic situation. The UN General Assembly
endorsed WMO’s and UNEP’s action with the joint establishment of IPCC.
“The pessimism of the mind does not exclude the optimism of the
will” -Romain Roland (Randers, 2012, p.19)
According to Boyce and Lewis (2009), as humans have become more risk-
averse, the dangers of climate change have become more visible. Lewis and
Boyce’s book begins with three propositions. The first one includes the
significance and measurability of the threat caused by climate change and how
it has the potential of killing and causing tremendous harm. The second
proposition is that humans can regulate climate change the same way they
have contributed to causing them. The last and the most essential proposal is
that it is up to humankind to avoid climate change’s potential disaster, yet, this
is only possible if humankind takes it seriously enough (Boyce and Lewis,
2009).
Here comes the importance of communicating environmental crises to the
masses through environmental communication campaigns and their country
specific adaptations.
3.4. WWF as an NGO and its role in communicating
climate change
The term “ecological footprint” was invented Wackernagel and Rees (1998).
The ecological footprint is the impact humanity has on the planet's land and
water. To maintain and provide itself, the human footprint on Earth must be
less than the sum of land and water on our planet. By now it is 60% larger than
our planet's capacity of regenerating itself. This indicates that humanity is
consuming to the extent that we need 1.6 planets to fulfil our needs. This
24manner of overconsumption is not a sustainable way of living. (Heinberg and
Lerch, 2010)
If a person spends more money than he/she earns, he or she will eventually
end up in bankruptcy. If humans fish faster than the fish can repopulate, this
behaviour will end up with fish extinction. If humanity continues to use more
resources than what the earth can regenerate in the long run, ecological
bankruptcy will be inevitable. Sweden's environmental footprint was
measured at 6.6 while Turkey's Ecological Footprint impact was measured to
be 3.2 in 2014, according to Global Footprint Network (2012).
Figure 2. Comparison of Turkey’s and Sweden’s ecological footprint by time periods. (The
blue bars represent Turkey and the green bars represent Sweden’s ecological footprint)
(Globalis, 2020)
Even though scientists were the first ones to detect climate change,
environmental NGOs have been crucial actors in communicating climate
change to the masses. They raise environmental awareness of the public by
informing the masses about it through organizing campaigns and taking
various actions. NGO’s main goal is to influence politicians and related
institutions to establish a long-term solution to environmental problems
(Boyce and Lewis, 2009).
25For example, it is important to buy environmentally friendly products instead of non-environmentally friendly products, yet it is not addressing a change in the problem of consumption. Success is when the consumers change their behaviours to buy more environmentally friendly products that are sustainable and do not overly consume and manage to change their consumption behaviours to a minimalistic way of just buying things that are crucially essential to them. Here NGOs’ roles are addressing the energy used to produce a certain product and its consequences on the ecosystem and the people living in the area, to enhance the behavioural change. A small example is the devastating effect Coca-Cola production had on India's groundwater sources. The water used to produce and meet the demand of Coca-Cola products has caused lots of harm to the ground water as the bottling plants in the south have led to the drying of local wells. Consequently, the locals have become dependent on water trucked by the government for their survival (Chiafone, 2019). Coca-Cola production in India has had devastating impacts on the locals. So, what do the NGOs do to fix the problem? NGOs would communicate with the masses in order to create public demand to force Coca-Cola to take responsibility for its action and make a change. WWF is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations, which was established on 29th April 1961 by a passionate wildlife supporter group of people signing a declaration called Morges Manifesto. This act was a seed to grow into becoming the largest conservation organization on earth as today known as the World Wildlife Fund. It aims to reach a utopian reality where humans and nature are not separated from each other and instead co- exist in harmony. WWF has so far reached 5 million people and WWF organizations have offices working in five continents and more than 100 countries. As their logo ’the panda’ has evolved, the WWF has also evolved 26
since it was established. Over the decades, WWF's focus has evolved
gradually from saving single species and individual habitats to protecting
biological diversity and striving for global sustainable development. (WWF,
2021)
3.5. Mediating Nature
“A sender can never quite be sure that the message will be interpreted
in the way intended.” (Windahl et al., 2008, p.135)
How people respond to certain information is unpredictable. They tend to
interpret the information given to them through their own realities which link
back to their own nature, background, beliefs, and the people that have
influenced them. Every value they hold is dependent on their experiences. So
to speak, every individual is different when it comes to the choices s/he makes.
Also, interpretations of the information one receives depend on his/her own
experiences. However, this does not mean that individuals are not being
influenced by the information they are exposed to. Humans can leave certain
information out, ignore it, and they can also guess the outcome of long-term
information or many ways it can be interpreted, but they can never be a
hundred percent sure of whether this is true ( Lundgren, 2000, p. 193).
3.6. Symbolic action
“Our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours toward nature are mediated by
human modes of representation- by our language, television, film,
photos, art, and contemplation.” (Cox, 2007, p.12)
Humankind’s ability to understand the environment and how to behave
towards it is shaped by and dependent on many factors such as environmental
science, public debates, daily conversations as well as media representations.
Visual rhetoric means that public images tend to function to persuade. There
are two ways of how visual rhetoric persuades: Firstly, they target people’s
perceptions, in other words, how people see and understand aspects of nature
27or the environment. Secondly, they construct what the public regards as
environmental problems (Cox, 2013).
“Visual images represent the nature” (ibid)
Symbolic actions such as media productions, pictures, videos, paintings,
films, etc., are all human-made and it means that they are artifacts. They are
produced to frame, orient, make one comprehend a certain point of view,
outline, and create ways of composing a bigger reality for the intended
audience. Symbolic actions will eventually affect our perception of the world,
in this case, nature itself. (ibid)
3.7. Condensation symbol
Regarding what a condensation symbol is and how it is used, Graber (1976)
explains that a condensation symbol can be a word or a phrase, but it can also
be an image used to speak to the targeted audience's core beliefs and values
and evokes reactions such as feelings and thought and stirs vivid impressions
involving the listeners most basic values (Graber, 1976). It is vital to
understand that visual pictures are regularly essential parts in forming
recognitions of normal ranges as well as our mindfulness of the effect of
contamination and poisonous squander on human communities. (Cox, 2013)
Polar bears are famous condensation symbols for melting ice and climate
change. Another example is the image of a little boy's dead body that had
washed ashore in Turkey. This picture that went viral immediately grabbed
the world's attention for Syrian refugees. This image reminded the whole
world that Syrians were humans trying to protect their children and themselves
from the war and they were escaping for their lives. Similarly, images of
animals that are vulnerable symbolize people’s concerns about climate change
as well (Smith, 2015).
283.8. The objective of a campaign
The objectives of a campaign are extremely important. Perhaps, the most
important thing to understand is what an objective is. Since a campaign has
one or more objectives to meet, one must understand what it stands for. A
campaign has long-term goals and objectives that are to serve in
accomplishing these long-term goals. An objective is an action or an event
that is meant to be the cause of bringing the target audience closer to the main
goals of a campaign. In this case, WWF’s Earth Hour campaign's goal is to
reverse climate change’s effects. The Earth Hour campaign’s objectives are
actions to steer attention toward climate change and create awareness about it
(Cox, 2013).
Once the objectives are set and known, the most important communication
task for a campaign is to create a large public demand for its objectives.
Campaigns must create a broader public demand for the objectives so they can
activate the support of the public about a matter that already exists. In the case
of Earth Hour, it is about activating the passive support of the public about
environmental values that play a pivotal role in climate change. Its aim is to
show that there is an ecosystem, an environmental value that is needed to be
protected and by creating a public demand they motivate people to demand
their concern to be heard and fixed by the decision-makers. Once they have
created a public demand for a campaign, the remaining biggest question is
who the target audience is. The secondary questions to be addressed are
’Where can they find their supporters?’ ’Which stakeholders are there to
educate and mobilize so that they can reach their intended objectives and serve
the long-term goal?’(ibid).
3.8.1. How to mobilize support
Once a specific campaign’s aim is decided, two things remain. First, target
authorities that need to act must be determined. Second, the so-called primary
audience, the audience that can find solutions and fulfil objectives, must be
29designated as decision makers. This is vital because a campaign will not be
able to reach its objective until a stakeholder in power makes a change or an
authority makes the decision to respond to the objective favourably. There is
also a public audience which is also called a secondary audience. This
audience is important because it is holding the decision-makers accountable
for the campaign's objectives. The public audience can be a variation between
news media, opinion leaders, and voters, etc. And as mentioned earlier, when
targeting to mobilize support, one must think what the authorities and
constitutions that need to be reached are to be able to make a change and how
they can be reached? It is also crucial to address such questions as ’What
audience do I need to target to mobilize this support?’ ’Which constituencies
should be mobilized so that the primary audience would be affected?’ (Cox,
2013).
A campaign's message is the most important part of the strategic
communication of a campaign. A campaign message seeks to express the
objectives and goals of the campaign. It often consists of a sentence or a phrase
that is catchy and memorable. An example of this can be L'oreal's campaign
message Because you are worth it. The main purpose of a campaign message
is to attract the targeted audience's attention and invite them to the campaign’s
further materials through framing. What are the values and what is the
language that resonates the most with their objectives that will help gather and
persuade sympathy from the stakeholders? A campaign message seeks to
answer these questions. The choice of message is crucial in order for it to
succeed. It must be really good in mobilizing support to hold decision-makers
accountable for its objectives by building public demand and withholding
long-term consistent behavioural change. It is summarizing and representing
the cause of the advocacy campaign (ibid).
“By planning a strategic course of action, campaigns increase the chances of
achieving their objectives. Campaigns serve as intermediaries between
30individuals in their private lives and the large, often impersonal, institutions
of public life” (Cox, 2013, p.213)
3.8.2. Advocacy campaign
According to Cox (2013), advocacy campaigns aim to find answers to three
major questions. The first one is to understand what they truly want to
accomplish. The second one is to find out which decision makers are available
and will respond. The last one is to find out ways to make the decision-makers
react to the campaign's objectives. By answering these questions advocacy
campaigns are able to broaden the support for the current objectives. They are
able to mobilize support. They are able to come up with strategies to reach
decision-makers. It is also very important to note that a campaign needs to
consider its communication environment since it is mostly competing with
other campaigns and counter campaigns. Therefore, it is vital that a campaign
knows how to adapt its communication within this environment (ibid).
314. PREVIOUS RESEARCH In this part of the manuscript, previous research regarding environmental communication and the importance of NGOs’ work is presented. Though the current research has followed a different path in its organization and focus, the findings, reflections, and implications of the previous studies are of importance in order to make better connections. 4.1. Identification of previous research Through Google Scholar and Uppsala University Library function DIVA (Digital scientific archive), inspirational and relevant research about environmental communication carried out by Netrebo (2012) was found. The keywords used for research were mainly environmental communication, WWF, Agenda setting, and social media. Tamara Netrebo’s research is “Drawing the Environment, Construction of Environmental Challenges by Greenpeace and WWF via Facebook.” It was reviewed and approved by Uppsala University and published in academic journals. The main relevant and contributing themes of her studies are the role of the media in how we perceive environmental challenges and how environmental awareness is created and mass media's importance. All these are very relevant to this study. The main purpose of environmental advocacy campaigns is to create awareness, find relevant mediums and platforms to mobilize the masses, and reach stakeholders that can make a change. Hence, she helps shed light on environmental communication and the importance of communicating the environment to the masses. She also expresses the importance of NGOs and grass-root 32
organizations’ work. Her research is very educational and inspirational.
The study of hers has been like a road map to follow when constructing
this research.
Environmental communication is very important in both Netrebo’s
research and the current one. In order to better comprehend the
importance of environmental communications and gain a more in-depth
understanding of its importance, one should read Tamara’s research as
a start.
335. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In this part of the paper, the following theoretical approaches are
presented for clarification: identification theory, the traditional
campaign model of communication theory, environmental
communication through symbolic action theory and narrative framing
and agenda-setting theory.
5.1. Identification theory and celebrity endorsement
Celebrities can be used to raise awareness, communicate a message or
promote behavioural but it will not guarantee long-term success since
people interpret celebrities’ messages differently. The retired basketball
player Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson is an example of how identification
theory is applied in communication for mobilizing the target group in
the desired direction.
“Identification plays a significant role in determining message effects.
This theory is used to test whether viewers' identification with a
spokesperson mediates the long-term effects of the advocated
position.” (Basil, 1996, p. 482)
Identification theory is vital to understand why and how celebrities do
influence the audiences. The case of retired basketball player Ervin
``Magic” Johnson is a very good example of how celebrities interact
with targeted audiences to build up support and mobilize audience.
Using celebrities to achieve lasting attitudes and behavioural change
has been proven to be very effective in media campaigns (ibid). In
Ervin’s case, after he went out with the information of him being HIV
positive the audience that identified themselves with Ervin showed
significant behavioural changes. This was done through a conducted
study for identification effect a year later of him becoming a
34spokesperson for HIV. According to Brown and Basil (1995), this
identification played a pivotal role in the effectiveness of Ervin’s
advocacy for safe sex.
5.2. Traditional Campaign model of communication
theory
5.2.1. How Communication Campaigns Succeed
So far what we understand about communication campaigns is that their
main purpose is to inform, motivate and persuade, which will end up in
a sustainable behavioural change and benefit society at large. These
communication campaigns organize activities within a certain time
frame. They use mass media platforms to involve supporters and create
public demand (Rice and Atkin 1989, Windahl et. al., 2008).
The biggest challenge for environmental communication campaigns is
probably being able to simultaneously inform while entertaining the
audience. Hence, I believe WWF, with its Earth Hour campaign, has
managed to succeed globally as it has successfully encouraged its
supporters into taking visible actions. Still, a closer look at what this
really means for a campaign is needed. How does a communication
campaign succeed? An examination of into Information Campaign
Model and how Earth Hour applies it to its environmental
communication campaign may be informative (Windahl et. al, 2009)
5.2.2. Understanding a campaign through its 4 basic elements
• Campaigns must reach specific results, which means they are
purposive. The purpose of Earth Hour 2014 was to build, maintain
and increase the support and awareness for climate change hoping
that it would result in permanent behavioural changes.
35• Campaigns target larger groups. This is of course relative. In the
WWF Earth Hour campaign, the target group is very large. It is
inherently global, and it targets hundreds of millions of people. It is
the biggest global campaign on earth.
• The choice of medium is vital since it is directly linked to factors
such as quality and credibility, which influence the outcome of a
campaign. This part is very important since for Earth Hour 2014
campaign in Turkey, they chose to use celebrities while Sweden
chose not to use their celebrity ambassadors.
• Organized communication is a must for a campaign as well as the
construction of a campaign message and the distribution of it. In EH
2014 Turkey campaign, the motto was “Dünyaya olan sevgini
göstermeye var misin? Varim dedin iyi ki dedin!'” (“Are you with
us to show your love for the earth? You said you were up to it, good
that you said it.”) In EH 2014, Sweden’s motto was 4Bs: Bilen,
Börsen, Bostaden och Biffen, which stand for the car, the stock
market, the home, and the meat. The global campaign theme was
“Use your power to make a change!”. Both Sweden and Turkey
followed the main theme, but Sweden differed by choosing not to
use celebrities to distribute the message to the audience.
In order to stimulate stakeholders to participate and to create awareness
and knowledge, the role the mass media plays is very important.
Nonetheless, the use of mass media alone is unlikely to lead to changes
in behaviours.
365.2.3. The 7 factors that contribute to the success of a
campaign
• Although behavioural changes are unlikely, the role of mass media
is very important when it comes to creating awareness and
spreading knowledge and motivating masses to act and participate
in a campaign. In Earth Hour 2014, there is clear usage of mass
media in the form of social media such as Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube, broadcasting through news and printed media.
• Interpersonal communication is very important in changing and
maintaining changes in behaviours. Interpersonal communication
can be linked to peer groups and social networks.
• The choice of the medium or the source also plays a vital role since
it is a determinant for the quality and credibility factors, which has
a direct effect on the outcome of a campaign.
• Formative evaluation is the part where you evaluate the campaign
objectives and the message so that they fit the relevant domains such
as media habits, availability of resources, and audience
predispositions. For the Earth Hour campaign in both countries, the
campaign objective and the message fit these areas.
• When it comes to whether the campaign appeals to the target
audience, the campaign is specific and does appeal to the values of
the stakeholders. It stresses the importance of climate change and
its effects on us and on the life of our planet. It focuses on the actions
that can be taken to prevent and reverse the negative trend as
individuals and decision-makers.
• Preventive behaviours such as long-term prevention goals can be
harder to achieve yet Earth Hour is the biggest campaign on earth
that has been able to unify and mobilize millions of people on earth.
37You can also read
