PR Strategy as a Principle of Behavior with a Line of Trust

Abstract

Abstract: Digital society and social dynamics and the influence of crisis factors require more serious and pragmatic focus on fundamental human principles, of which trust is a part. This paper aims to provide a basic study and analysis of trust and its role in relationship effectiveness. The hypothesis is that in the component structure of a PR strategy, trust should occupy a leading line as a condition for successfully building and maintaining relationships between organizations, their stakeholders and society at large. The Edelman Trust Barometer special reports for the last years (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023) and Edelman Data & Intelligence reports have been analysed, i.e. a period of four years has been covered and the analysis is based on expert research. The methods used are desk research and content analysis of documents; they are combined with empirical and theoretical analysis and a deductive approach. The findings are related to the identification of discourse features on PR strategy and behavioural principles. Keywords: trust, PR strategy, responsibility, strategic communication, relationship.