Social change is here to stay

At the beginning of 2018 I was very optimistic. We had just launched the first edition of Hunters, a product which we wanted for a long time in our portfolio. My optimism wasn’t just coming from the pride of launching Hunters, but it was more connected to the results of this survey: Romanians were showing signs of values stability, increasing self-confidence and optimism related to the idea of having a life in Romania. The year started with good vibes.

And then 2018 came, with lots of projects. But things got worse. The first half of the year generated lots of worries and we already thought the second Hunters edition will be jeopardised by the Romanians negative state of mind.

The social and political events at the beginning of 2018 seemed to shake the trust people have accumulated until then. We thought we will go back to our usual inertia.

Yet things did not stay still and the year continued with several dramatic and unexpected events that have had purifying effect on people. The protest on 10th of August, the funerals of the last Romanian king, the referendum, the centenary have had an incredible encouraging role for what we call today the rising civic conscience of the Romanian people. We have freshened up. We started to reconnect with people’s positive energy, more willing than ever to involve, to make their life beautiful, to fight for a better living here, in Romania.

The results of the second Hunters edition indicate an ascending trend in everything we call values stability and self-confidence. All the trends increase, but what we like the most is the fact that needs such as empathy, clean environment, common purpose and authenticity have a remarkable ascension. People need clarity, stability and unity. They want to connect their positive energies to fight easier with what might block their comfort and the collective progress. We also welcome new trends such as “power to the people” or “responsible brands”. Nevertheless, we observe an increasing optimism related to the future that generation Z will create, as we feel they’ve been born and raised in a much more stable society than previous generations. All data indicate we are heading in a good direction, even if the journey is difficult. We learned how to be perseverant, which is in fact an important behavioural change for Romanians. We know now that staying aside does not save us, but on the contrary. It stops our evolution, it makes us guilty of all the bad things that happen to us. Our lesson for this year was that once we have decided what kind of country we want and what life principle should guide us through, it is impossible to go back.