Partnership recognized for evolving Time Out’s successful decade-long global research program through Rival Technologies’ conversational research platform and bringing audience insights closer to editorial, audience and commercial teams
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – September 8, 2026 – Time Out, the global brand dedicated to inspiring and enabling people to experience the best of the city, and Rival Technologies have won a 2026 Esomar Award for Excellence in Global Research..
The award was announced at Esomar Congress 2026 in Valencia, Spain, recognizing their work to make audience insights a more visible part of editorial storytelling, audience engagement and commercial activity across Time Out’s global business.
For more than a decade, Time Out’s Global City Survey has been the research foundation behind its annual Best Cities ranking, combining the views and experiences of local residents with Time Out’s editorial expertise. Over that time, Best Cities has grown into one of Time Out’s most successful global editorial initiatives, generating significant audience engagement, international media coverage and locally relevant stories across its network.
Building on that success, Time Out partnered with Rival Technologies to evolve the way people participate in the research. Rival’s conversational, mobile-first technology helped Time Out move away from a more traditional survey experience towards one designed to feel closer to a conversation, while retaining the scale and structure needed for a major global research programme.
This award-winning project engaged more than 18,500 people across nearly 60 countries in 45 languages, generating approximately 1.6 million data points and an 86% completion rate.
The findings reached more than 6.3 million people organically within the first seven days of publication and generated coverage in CNN, Forbes, The Independent and The New York Post, while supporting localized editorial storytelling across Time Out’s international network.
“The Global City Survey has been part of Time Out for years and has grown into one of our most successful global editorial initiatives. What Rival has helped us do is evolve the way people take part, making the research feel much more conversational and bringing us even closer to the people who actually live in and experience these cities,” said Anna Norfolk, Insights and Trade Marketing Director at Time Out. “That partnership has since grown into Time Out Loud community and helped us make audience insight a much more visible part of how we work across editorial, audience and commercial teams. It’s wonderful to see that work recognised by Esomar.”
Following the success of the Global City Survey, Time Out and Rival launched Time Out Loud, a proprietary insight community powered by Rival Technologies and focused on Gen Z and millennial city dwellers. In its first six months, the community supported more than 30 fast-turnaround research projects, combining quantitative data with conversational and video feedback and AI-supported analysis.
The 2026 Esomar Awards recognize outstanding work across the global data, research and insights profession. A full list of winners can be found here: esomar.org/newsroom/winners-of-the-2026-esomar-awards-announced-in-valencia
Time Out Group is a global brand that inspires and enables people to experience the best of the city. Time Out launched in London in 1968 to help people discover the best of the city - today it is the only global brand dedicated to city life. Expert journalists curate and create content about the best things to Do, See and Eat across over 350 cities in over 50 countries and across a unique multi-platform model spanning both digital and physical channels.
Time Out Market is the world's first editorially curated food and cultural destination, bringing a city's best chefs, restaurateurs and unique cultural experiences together under one roof. There are currently Markets in 13 cities including Lisbon, New York and Dubai, with several new locations expected to open in 2026 and beyond, in addition to a pipeline of further locations in advanced discussions.
Time Out Group PLC, listed on AIM, is headquartered in London (UK).
Rival Technologies is a research technology company redefining how brands understand people. As a pioneer in conversational research, Rival’s AI-driven, mobile-first platform transforms traditional surveys into engaging, chat-like experiences that reflect how people communicate today. By blending quant, qual and video in a single conversational flow, Rival helps global brands like Cash App, ŌURA, Carnival Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery capture richer insights, increase response rates and move from data to confident decisions faster. Part of Rival Group, Rival Technologies was named to the Top 10 Most Innovative Technology Suppliers in Greenbook’s 2025 GRIT report. Learn more at rivaltech.com.
Get your new year off to a great start. Chat with one of our insight community experts
