ING Bank study: 95% of Romanians listen to “what people say”

ING Bank launches the brand platform “Free to be yourself”, a manifesto for the freedom to live without fear of judgment from others. The new positioning encourages Romanians to embrace authenticity in all its forms-whether they are pretentious, stubborn, spontaneous, or courageous.   A study conducted by Unlock Research for ING Bank in July 2025, on a sample of 1,000 urban respondents, shows that the fear of being judged remains one of the biggest barriers for Romanians when they want to pursue their plans. For 86% of respondents, the fear of being judged is a major obstacle to pursuing their dreams, and six out of ten feel that external pressure is holding them back. In total, 95% of Romanians admit that they fear “what people will say” from a certain perspective – the percentage represents the sum of the attributes analyzed in the study, such as fear of being judged, family pressure, lack of support from loved ones, fear of exposure, social pressure, fear of not being taken seriously, etc.  Moreover, the percentage is even higher among students (97%) and young people aged 25-29 (100%).   ING Bank’s “Free to Be Yourself” campaign is a manifesto for personal freedom, a message of support for those who find the courage to “shake off the voice of the world” and confidently follow their own path. The campaign, run across all media channels, encourages people to overcome external pressure, peer pressure, or lack of support from those around them and to act with more courage, because sometimes the world can have a good opinion, and the voice of the world can also be positive.   “The study dedicated to the brand platform confirmed several phenomena that can be seen around us: the fear of being judged, the fear of not meeting expectations, and the desire to please. All of these become powerful barriers to personal freedom and authenticity. At ING Bank, we believe that freedom is more than a principle-it is a way of being. That is why, through Free to be yourself, we offer our customers the inspiration and tools they need to turn their ambitions into reality. It is a call to everyone to shake off prejudice and “what people say” and live as they feel: courageous, ambitious, spontaneous, sometimes stubborn-but above all, free”, says Diana Mihai, Marketing, Communication, and Brand Experience Director, ING Bank Romania.    According to the study on barriers and aspirations conducted by Unlock Research, young people are among those most affected by social pressure and “gossip.” Ninety-five percent of those aged 25 to 29 fear the judgment of others (compared to 86% nationally), six out of ten feel external pressure as a barrier to being themselves, and half feel they do not receive enough support to fulfill their aspirations.   Free to be yourself is ING Bank’s new brand platform and highlights the bank’s commitment to creating an ecosystem of services and solutions designed to support users in being free to live according to their own aspirations and plans.   The campaign to launch the new brand platform will run from October to December 2025 across all media channels (TV, radio, digital, OOH).   The study on Romanians’ Barriers and Aspirations was conducted by Unlock Research for ING Bank Romania in July 2025 and combined qualitative methods (focus groups with the target population) with quantitative methods (a sample of 1,000 respondents, representative of Romania’s urban population aged between 18 and 55).