Esomar names 2026 awards winners in Valencia

Esomar announced the winners of its 2026 awards during Congress 2026 in Valencia, Spain, recognizing work across research, data, insights, AI, methodology, social impact and innovation. The awards highlight how global brands, agencies and researchers are applying data and AI to improve decision-making, product development and social outcomes.

Why it matters: - The Esomar Awards spotlight the work shaping how brands, agencies and researchers use data and insights in practice. - The 2026 winners show where the industry is placing value: artificial intelligence, consumer understanding, research impact, social good and innovation. - The recognition can influence which methods and partnerships gain wider adoption across the global insights profession.

What happened: - Esomar announced the winners of the 2026 Esomar Awards on Sept. 2, 2026, during Esomar Congress 2026 in Valencia, Spain. - The awards covered Gold, Silver and Bronze winners across global categories and regional awards across Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. - Esomar described the awards as recognition for outstanding work across the global insights profession.

The details: - Outstanding Contribution to Consumer Insights Gold went to Factworks GmbH and Turo for "Built to Be Used: The Guest Segmentation Shaping Growth at Turo." - Outstanding Contribution to Consumer Insights Silver went to Momentum Group and Kantar for "Project Athena: Defining Success Codes of SA Women." - Outstanding Contribution to Consumer Insights Bronze went to Toluna and AXA for "A New Augmented Intelligence Approach to Decoding Population Ageing." - Outstanding Contribution to Consumer Insights regional winners included Itaú in Latin America and Momentum Group with Bureau of Market Research in the Middle East and Africa. - Excellence in Global Research Gold went to Human8 and Coca-Cola for "A 2027 to 2030 innovation playbook for a global category, built with future confidence." - Excellence in Global Research Silver went to Nextatlas for "Foresight as a Service: The Agentic Data Layer." - Excellence in Global Research Bronze went to Rival Technologies and Time Out for "Making research famous: How Time Out turned insights into headlines using Rival Technologies." - Excellence in AI and Automation in Market Research Gold went to NIQ and Unilever for "Predicting What Consumers Will Love — Before We Ask Them." - Excellence in AI and Automation in Market Research Silver went to GetWhy and eBay for "From Retrospective to Real-Time: How GetWhy and eBay Built the World's Most Human AI Insight Engine." - Excellence in AI and Automation in Market Research Bronze went to Toluna and Keolis for "Reimagining Future Mobility Through AI-Powered Personas: A Scalable Approach to Global Foresight." - Regional AI and automation winners included Quantum Consumer Solutions and Haleon in Asia Pacific, Toluna and Kellanova in Asia Pacific, Kantar GmbH in Europe, Itaú in Latin America, Listen Labs and Sweetgreen in North America, and MMA Global with AT&T in North America. - Breakthrough Research Methodology Gold went to MMA Global for "Measuring Brand Discoverability in the Age of AI." - Breakthrough Research Methodology regional Europe went to Verve and BBC for "The Rules of Engagement: How the BBC and Verve combined AI and Semiotics to Create a New Blueprint for Winning on Social." - Research Impact Gold went to Consumer Feedback Consultancy and SMEDCO for "State of the MSME Sector - Zimbabwe." - Research Impact Silver went to Acacia Avenue and Perrigo for "Let's talk about sex." - Research Impact Bronze went to TATA SONS and Insight Gig for "Building Enduring Brands: Using Agentic AI to Create Thriving Consumer Communities." - Research Impact regional winners included ACEN RES in Asia Pacific, Quantum Consumer Solutions and Unilever in Asia Pacific, Blauw Research and AH Retail Media Services in Europe, and Momentum Group, Bureau of Market Research and Alltold in the Middle East and Africa. - Best Social Impact Research Gold went to Savanta for "Youth Matters: State of the Nation." - Best Social Impact Research Silver went to DVJ Insights for "How Research Became a Catalyst for Action Against Loneliness." - Best Social Impact Research Bronze went to Quiddity and Instituto Fundação Natura for "Call It By Its Name: Naming Violence Against Women as a Tool for the Transformation of Latin American Societies." - Regional Social Impact winners included Human8 and InLife in Asia Pacific, moweb research GmbH and Viva Equality in Europe, Quiddity and Instituto Fundação Natura in Latin America, SOS Education Consultancy in Latin America, and Dalberg Research with SEZ WOW MOM and BSD Group in the Middle East and Africa. - Qualitative Excellence | Peter Cooper Award Gold went to Acacia Avenue and Perrigo for "Let's talk about sex." - Qualitative Excellence Silver went to Sprint Studio Human Insights Pvt. Ltd and Unilever for "The Multi-Sensor Love Lab: A Blueprint for GenZ Love-codes." - The Innovation Award | Tony Cowling Foundation Gold went to Human8 and Coca-Cola for "Future digital twins, and the timing problem nothing else solves." - Innovation Award Silver went to Brand Genetics and Unilever for "Insight in the Foothills of the Singularity." - The Young ESOMAR Society Award Gold went to Olivia Petrie of SKIM for "New Way of Concepts | Testing innovation the way people really decide." - The full list of winners is available at the Esomar newsroom announcement. - Esomar said the awards recognize work across consumer insights, research impact, artificial intelligence, methodology, social impact, qualitative research and innovation. - Esomar also said the winners were selected from work spanning global and regional categories.

Between the lines: - The results point to a market that is moving quickly toward AI-assisted research while still rewarding qualitative insight and social impact work. - Big consumer brands, research firms and specialist consultancies all appear across the winner list, showing that innovation is coming from both large and niche players. - The range of categories suggests Esomar is treating research not just as a measurement tool, but as a driver of strategy, product design and social change.

What's next: - Esomar will likely continue using the awards to surface emerging methods and case studies for the wider research community. - The winning teams may use the recognition to extend their work into new markets, new client relationships and broader industry visibility. - More information about the awards is available in Esomar's newsroom announcement.