Framing the Water Crisis: Environmental Sponsorship as a Public Relations Practice

Abstract

As a popular public relations practice of recent years, organizations carry out environmental sponsorships to raise awareness about environmental problems such as climate change, sustainability, global warming and water crisis. Environmental sponsorship, which can be defined as the in-kind or financial support of activities about environment, provides a communicative medium for organizations to identify environmental problems, find solutions to the problems and mobilize the publics. Despite its potential, the scarcity of studies on environmental sponsorship in the public relations literature is remarkable. There is no critical study on environmental sponsorships in the literature, either. In this context, this study aims to examine environmental sponsorships with a critical approach. Framing analysis was used in the study, in which the documentary titled 25 Litre (25 Liters) sponsored by a dish soap brand about the water crisis, was taken as an example of environmental sponsorship. The documentary was chosen as an example of environmental sponsorship because it focused on an environmental problem, was co-produced with a documentary channel and a detergent brand, and was deemed worthy of multiple awards at the leading award ceremonies. For framing analysis, Snow & Benford’s “core framing tasks” and Gamson & Modigliani’s and Zoch et al.’s “framing devices” were followed. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the “Population and Individual Water Footprint Growth Framework” was used to diagnose the water crisis, the “Individual Austerity Framework” as a solution, and the “Dystopian Future Framework” as a motivational element. The study argues that the documentary ignores the role of industry in the water crisis, and it overlooks the economic and political dimension of the water crisis by placing a large part of the responsibility of the water crisis on individuals instead of presenting institutional suggestions.

Keywords

• Framing Analysis
• Environmental Sponsorship
• Public Relations
• Water Crisis
• 25 Liters Documantary

Su Krizini Çerçevelemek: Halkla İlişkiler Pratiği Olarak Çevre Sponsorluğu

Öz

Son yılların popüler bir halkla ilişkiler pratiği olarak, kurumlar iklim değişikliği, sürdürülebilirlik, küresel ısınma ve su krizi gibi çevre sorunlarına yönelik farkındalıkları artırmak için çevre sponsorlukları gerçekleştirmektedir. Çevreyle ilgili gerçekleştirilen etkinliklerin ayni veya nakdi olarak desteklenmesi olarak tanımlanabilecek olan çevre sponsorluğu, kurumlara çevresel sorunları tespit etme, soruna ilişkin çözüm üretme ve kamu kategorilerini harekete geçirme konusunda iletişimsel bir mecra sunmaktadır. Bu potansiyeline rağmen, halkla ilişkiler literatüründe çevre sponsorluğuna yönelik çalışmaların azlığı dikkat çekicidir. Özellikle, çevre sponsorluklarına yönelik eleştirel çalışma henüz bulunmamaktadır. Bu çerçevede, bu çalışma çevre sponsorluğunu eleştirel bir yaklaşımla incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bir bulaşık deterjanı markasının sponsoru olduğu ve su krizi ile ilgili olarak çekilmiş olan 25 Litre belgeselinin çevre sponsorluğu örneği olarak ele alındığı çalışmada çerçeveleme analizi kullanılmıştır. Belgesel; çevresel bir soruna odaklanması, bir belgesel kanalı ile bir deterjan markasının iş birliğiyle hazırlanması ve sektörün önde gelen ödül törenlerinde birden çok ödüle layık görülmesi gerekçeleriyle, çevre sponsorluğu örneği olarak seçilmiştir. Çerçeveleme analizi için Snow ve Benford’un “çerçeveleme süreçleri” ve Gamson & Modigliani’nin ve Zoch vd.’nin “çerçeveleme araçları” takip edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda, belgeselde su krizinin teşhisi için “Nüfus ve Bireysel Su Ayak İzinin Artışı Çerçevesi”nin, çare olarak “Bireysel Tasarruf Çerçevesi”nin, güdüleyici unsur olarak ise “Distopik Gelecek Çerçevesini”n kullanıldığı ortaya konmuştur. Çalışma, su krizinin sorumlusu olarak bireysel tüketimi, su krizinin çözümü olarak bireysel tasarruf girişimlerini öne çıkaran belgeselin sanayinin su krizindeki rolünü ikinci plana ittiğini ve kurumsal öneriler sunmak yerine su krizinin sorumluluğunun büyük bir bölümünü bireylere yükleyerek su krizinin ekonomik ve politik boyutunu göz ardı ettiğini ileri sürmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Çerçeveleme Analizi
• Çevre Sponsorluğu
• Halkla İlişkiler
• Su Krizi
• 25 Litre Belgeseli

Kaynakça

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