Public Relations towards Member Engagement in Advocacy Networks: the ‘No Pesticides on My Plate’ Campaign

Abstract

When civil society organisations (CSOs) of asymmetric size, structure and scope become members of an advocacy network, all those variations may lead to discrepant communicative behaviour. Therefore, encouraging member organisations to collaborate and co-create messages towards an advocacy goal is a major challenge. To examine member engagement in an advocacy network, this study scrutinizes the strategic communication activities of an environmental network in Turkey, and reviews their EU-funded campaign named ‘No Pesticides on My Plate’ accordingly. Grounded in the relationship management framework, this paper suggests that the power of relevant public relations strategies and tactics should be taken into account as to ensure the effectiveness of member CSOs’ actions in an advocacy network. Depending on a case study to examine the subject, it demonstrates how interpersonal communication and media tactics may be utilised to achieve member relations goals and finally to pursue social change.