Vancouver, BC – September 13, 2026 -- Time Out and Rival Technologies have won a 2026 Esomar Award for Excellence in Global Research, announced at the Esomar Congress in Valencia, Spain.
Global City Survey engaged 18,500 people across nearly 60 countries
The award-winning project surveyed participants in 45 languages, generating approximately 1.6 million data points and an 86% completion rate. The research underpins Time Out's Best Cities ranking, a decade-long global editorial initiative built on resident feedback and Time Out's journalism.
Rival's conversational platform replaced traditional survey formats
Time Out partnered with Rival Technologies to shift the Global City Survey from a standard survey format to a mobile-first, chat-like research experience while preserving the scale needed for a global program spanning dozens of markets.
Findings reached 6.3 million people organically within seven days
Coverage followed in CNN, Forbes, The Independent and The New York Post, while the data fed localized editorial storytelling across Time Out's international network of city guides.
"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,