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Insights collection @ BrandRo2024

Every autumn in the last 15 years we launch Most Powerful Romanian Brands, a survey which we ran for Revista Biz. Of course the power of the brands is the one perceived by customers, as we refer to the results of a survey, but the study brings on table lots of interesting insights and dynamic from one year to another. For us, at Unlock, this study is not just for the sake of the Awards Gala, but it also represent an opportunity to track brands & categories performance while understanding the dynamic of the cultural context. Romania is a growing market and understanding the roots of change might be essential for future strategies

Camelia Petrescu

Content Creator

Your Mind Impacts Your Business

Being an entrepreneur is a choice of risk and freedom. Freedom makes you happy and creative, risk adds adrenaline and requires lots of courage and resilience. The entrepreneur should be equally prepared to deal with success as well as failure, since where is high risk both of them are likely to happen. How prepared are Romanian entrepreneurs to deal with risk, stress and failure? What's the status of their metal health? In this article we summarise main take-outs from the study we ran in partnership with start-up.ro, September 2024

Founder & Content Creator

Romanians vs Money: Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

The complicated relationship of Romanians with money is longer than we can remember and has been aggravated by years on instability, social change and social trauma. The Romanian striving spirit had adapted to social insecurities in its unique way, fighting to strive and, why not, make a better living. Bringing at the surface the truth about Romanians' authentic relationship with money is a big step forward for healing traumas and build a healthier financial behaviour for the future.

Founder & Content Creator

The friendly shadows of Generation Z

Understanding the new generation is a burning topic for the societies all over the globe, as it is widely acknowledged their brain is probably wired differently given digitalisation. Mental health per se represents a priority for gen Z to a much higher extend as compared to previous generations. In this article we tell a short story about the acknowledgement of mental health issues among young people in Romania and the downfalls of handling too much data while the mind is not yet prepared to process them

Camelia Petrescu

Content Creator

Every successful Romanian brand is a Romania's succes story

In research, when people imagine future Romania, they associate it with a smarter use of resources and a better encounter of the economical potential. That includes Romanian brands. The health of Romanian brands conditions the economical future of Romania. People overcome the skepticism in the past when they were watching the Romania product with mistrust, giving higher credits to brands coming from abroad. Today things changed for the better. The concept of Romanian Brand met its value, inspires trust, triggers preferences. How they could actually help Romania grow?

Founder & Content Creator

Z come from "A Strong I AM" generation

The future does not exist and it is purely unpredictable. The only way to prepare for it is to understand which are the roots for growth that will impact the shape of our future. This is why, in research, it is so important to understand generations. Knowing who they are and what motivates them could help us imagine how the future will look like and be better prepared for it. We did this exercise in research with gen Z and we embraced the inspiration that come along we data speaking to us.

Founder & Content Creator

The Podcast Revolution

Podcasts are on fast pace of evolution. People refer to them as being an important source of entertainment today, even better that socialising sometimes. Some say listening to a podcast is like reading a real-life book, definitely more fun, comfortable and engaging. In times where TV content is losing relevance, is this the beginning of a new era in media?

Founder & Content Creator

Forced anxiety: being young & single during lockdowns

The lockdown was a difficult period for almost everyone, regardless of age or status. While families found themselves under the heavy pressure of managing complex schedules and juggling with all sorts of activities across what seemed to be a too short 24h day, others faced the difficulty of suddenly having too much time alone on their hands.

The first study on gastronomic cultural identity: Romanian food has a great potential for reinvention

The first study on Romania's gastronomic cultural identity offers an image of how the cuisine is perceived by current generations, but also a look at the future of Romanian dishes and ingredients. Herbs and cheeses are seen as among the healthiest foods, while Romanian spreads have international potential and great chances of reinvention, along with minced meat and potatoes. The study shows that Romanian cuisine has some obvious features: it is not very practical, it requires a lot of preparation time and it is cooked in peace, something that modern life lacks.

Founder & Content Creator

Change of power in media influence

Last years of continuous crisis eroded people trust in media mainly because of the abundance of negativity that have had a damaging effect on their emotional health. Only 11% of Romanians invest high trust in media today. People tend to prefer digital entertainment sources, such as a movie night at home, rather than spending their evenings connected to media sources. Romanians consume a lot of online content selected by them, not auto generated. They rather prefer independent news platforms and tend to check more than one source to fundament their opinion

Andrei Constantin

We need fresh leaders for Romania

We live in a society where values and social models change rapidly and the stability is difficult to create and maintain, which is why people feel insecure and look for success models which can inspire them confidence. The desire to have models to follow is needed more than ever and has an impact on the way Romanians live their lives, make daily choices and transmit behaviors and values to new generations. The question that is on everyone's lips is related to "where are our leaders?". What does it mean to be a leader in everyday life and what are the expectations that Romanians have from a leader?

Project Coordinator

Tell me who's your leader, to tell you who you are!?

Romanians have a really controversial relationship with the authority in general. Years of inconsistency in changing leaders have created that apriori mistrust in those that have authority over us. It is true that the toxic relationship has been designed both ways. Leaders as well chose rather to enjoy their status for their own benefits and planned to manifest their role for a short time, so as to meet their personal objectives. No consistent plan for the people, no bigger picture, no vision in generating consistent sustainable progress

Founder & Content Creator

Is not you, it's me! Me and my personal immunity

Pandemic Crisis has made Romanians more confident in their power of making their life better. It made them aspire to freedom and liberation in a way they never did before, by using new tools such as planning and discipline. Preserving one’s immunity is the first step in becoming a more perseverant, stable and strong nation

Founder & Content Creator

How difficult is it to stay connected with immediate reality?

Connecting with your own true self has gain more meaning today as people become more conscious on what their real feelings are. “Living the now” becomes priority as people re-value happiness as being more present in your life and your body

Founder & Content Creator

Romania's hidden dragons: how normal we treat mental health

Romanians are still struggling on how to accept and be compassionate with people that have mental health problems. The society has been cruel, intolerant, and judgmental, driven by fear and shame, whenever needing to relate to cases of mental instability. Yet, there is so much room for evolution at personal and societal level until one’s mental illness becomes accepted as a disease that requires treatment and acceptance as any other. After all, the world is shaped by people’s hearts & minds, so it is priority to take care of those first

Founder & Content Creator

The challenge of deeper analysis and long term planning

The Romanian history of cultural insecurities made people struggle in having an organized life as fearing the idea of taking risks. It was just very hard to get settled and be organized. The last years made people more focused on deeper analysis and getting control on their mind & body by setting up a list of good habits. Prevention and planning are seen today as key rule of a balanced life

Founder & Content Creator

World post pandemic: THE FAMILY becoming the center of the world

A story about people personal discoveries during lockdown, as they revealed to us. A story describing the process in which THE FAMILY re-gain its original status of being the center of everybody's life, thus the world

Are Romanian entrepreneurs ready for growing with vision?

Having a vision and making it happen, require more than just talent. It means stepping out of your comfort zone as often as needed so as to bridge your solutions with the needs of your customers. Otherwise, you might end up playing alone and wasting energy. How prepared are the Romanian entrepreneurs for this exercise?

Founder & Content Creator

The cure of Positive Energy

Romanian culture went through major changes in the last three years. Dealing with a lot of negativities in their life, has made Romanians understand that they are the only ones responsible with their happiness and wellbeing. They hold the control of it. This led to the search of positive solutions without expecting anything from others. The switch has been towards searching control on their own behavior in order to evolve and move away from toxicity

Founder & Content Creator

"Stay Healthy" Gen Z, the paradox of youth today

Being young often means being careless. And free. However, recent studies show that the Gen-Z generation is more cautious than others, they tend to pay more attention to health, nutrition, sports, looks, and, not least, mental health. How far are we now in Romania?

Founder & Content Creator

Re-parenting Romania

It is unbelievable how important is the role of parents in shaping the value and the future of a culture! Romanian parents are struggling, as they deal with the conflict between their own patterns of functioning, most of them considered improper for today’s society, and the new ones emerging today, adapting to a completely different society than the one they grew up into. Most of them are doing the mistake of correcting through opposition the traumas they’ve been through when kids. What’s the way forward for good parenting?

Founder & Content Creator

Meet the colors of the Romanian mind

We see colors everyday but what do they mean to us? Are they just colors or is there something more to learn from them? The way people refer to colors says a lot about the values and norms that their culture is made of; they talk about emotions, feelings, doubts, deeper associations, positive or negative

Founder & Content Creator

Women feel better with stress than men, once again

The pandemic crisis generated an amplification of deep-seated truths across all the layers of society. Regardless of age, gender or social status, people felt the pressure of the national and global difficulties, as well as the sharp and abrupt changes in lifestyle that were generated.

The contract between the untamed Romania and its Bear King

One of the unique characteristics of Romania, often called as too wild for the modern world, is its untamed nature and extraordinary landscapes. Romania is not just wild, but naturally rich and fascinating, while Romanians have had through generations a specific connection with nature which seems embedded in their DNA. As much pressure the modern world has put on us, we proudly managed to preserve the biosphere. The Carpathian Bear is the King of Romania's fauna and lately he has sent us signs he is not feeling well. It is not just because climate change, it is also caused by us, humans!

Project Coordinator

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Teambuilding (The Movie) marks the restart of the Romanian comedy

In January 2023, Netflix launched on its platform Teambuilding the movie, which became easily accessible to a wider public and amplified enormously its success. The shock was huge and generated a lot of controversies, especially in social media. Apparently, lots of critics, as these appeared as more vocal. Many of those that liked the movie were somehow afraid to admit they laughed and enjoyed the plot so as not to be judged for“bad taste” Curious to find what was the real impact of the movie on the Romanian public, we ran a survey.

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

Tell me who's your leader, to tell you who you are!?

Romanians have a really controversial relationship with the authority in general. Years of inconsistency in changing leaders have created that apriori mistrust in those that have authority over us. It is true that the toxic relationship has been designed both ways. Leaders as well chose rather to enjoy their status for their own benefits and planned to manifest their role for a short time, so as to meet their personal objectives. No consistent plan for the people, no bigger picture, no vision in generating consistent sustainable progress

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

"Stay Healthy" Gen Z, the paradox of youth today

Being young often means being careless. And free. However, recent studies show that the Gen-Z generation is more cautious than others, they tend to pay more attention to health, nutrition, sports, looks, and, not least, mental health. How far are we now in Romania?

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

Are Romanian entrepreneurs ready for growing with vision?

Having a vision and making it happen, require more than just talent. It means stepping out of your comfort zone as often as needed so as to bridge your solutions with the needs of your customers. Otherwise, you might end up playing alone and wasting energy. How prepared are the Romanian entrepreneurs for this exercise?

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

World post pandemic: THE FAMILY becoming the center of the world

A story about people personal discoveries during lockdown, as they revealed to us. A story describing the process in which THE FAMILY re-gain its original status of being the center of everybody's life, thus the world

A photograph of Empath team member Flavia Bobei in a picturesque fairy lit garden at night smiling at the camera whilst wearing a bright red woolen hat and scarf to stay warm..

Romania's hidden dragons: how normal we treat mental health

Romanians are still struggling on how to accept and be compassionate with people that have mental health problems. The society has been cruel, intolerant, and judgmental, driven by fear and shame, whenever needing to relate to cases of mental instability. Yet, there is so much room for evolution at personal and societal level until one’s mental illness becomes accepted as a disease that requires treatment and acceptance as any other. After all, the world is shaped by people’s hearts & minds, so it is priority to take care of those first

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

The challenge of deeper analysis and long term planning

The Romanian history of cultural insecurities made people struggle in having an organized life as fearing the idea of taking risks. It was just very hard to get settled and be organized. The last years made people more focused on deeper analysis and getting control on their mind & body by setting up a list of good habits. Prevention and planning are seen today as key rule of a balanced life

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

How difficult is it to stay connected with immediate reality?

Connecting with your own true self has gain more meaning today as people become more conscious on what their real feelings are. “Living the now” becomes priority as people re-value happiness as being more present in your life and your body

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

The cure of Positive Energy

Romanian culture went through major changes in the last three years. Dealing with a lot of negativities in their life, has made Romanians understand that they are the only ones responsible with their happiness and wellbeing. They hold the control of it. This led to the search of positive solutions without expecting anything from others. The switch has been towards searching control on their own behavior in order to evolve and move away from toxicity

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

Is not you, it's me! Me and my personal immunity

Pandemic Crisis has made Romanians more confident in their power of making their life better. It made them aspire to freedom and liberation in a way they never did before, by using new tools such as planning and discipline. Preserving one’s immunity is the first step in becoming a more perseverant, stable and strong nation

A photograph of Empath team member Adina Vlad kneeling in her blossoming garden, smiling at the camera whilst hugging her black and white pet dog.

Founder & Content Creator

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Hunters Annual Trends Analysis

Hunters Report 2024

2024 is announced to be a year of wise decisions, of introspection and giving up aspects in people's lives that they feel that they do not represent them. People have a clear need to simplify and ease their existence in order to have the energy to manifest who they really are. 2024 promises to be a year of concentration, with need for data, highlighting personal priorities and announcing an increased concern for education, family, personal tranquility and mental health, but low for social activities without having a well-defined purpose for their lives

Language:

English

Rebuilding Us | 2022 Summary

Hunters Annual Trends Summary

Rebuilding Us | 2022 Summary

2022 brought back normality in the sense of lowering the level of alert produced by the pandemic. At the same time, 2022 was defined by the tensions generated by the social re-construction. This summary comprises a detailed qualitative analysis of trends valid in Romania in 2022, the year we called “Rebuilding Us”. Foreword: Alec Balasescu, Adina Vlad.

Language:

English

Time to Reset | 2021 Summary

Hunters Annual Trends Summary

Time to Reset | 2021 Summary

2021 was the first year after the pandemic shock in 2020, the year where lots of life rules have been rewritten. People made a lot of discoveries that led to a total or partial reset of their priorities. This summary comprises a detailed qualitative view of what has changed and defined 2021.

Language:

English

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