June 23, 2026, Toronto. Congratulations to the 2026 Winners of the CRIC Insights Excellence Awards. The awards celebrate the greatest achievements in our industry over the past year. The winners were announced during the Gala Awards last week as part of the CRIC 2026 Conference, Depth in the Age of Instant. The quality of submissions was so strong that industry specific Business Impact awards were added in 2026. Runners up were also recognized in two categories. The award categories, runners up and winners are listed below.
Business Impact Award: Awarded in recognition of excellence in an insights or analytics project that results in a demonstrable business impact and/or benefit overall and in specific industries.
2026 Winner-Overall Business Impact: Bell, inca-Nexxt Intelligence and the Logit Group for their collaboration on an AI-facilitated conversational survey to support the evolution of Bell’s social responsibility strategy. The findings provided Bell with an evidence-based roadmap that will guide its 2027 strategy.
2026 Winner-Business Impact in CPG: Kraft Heinz and Kantar for employing a mixed-method, behaviour-led research design combining next-generation search, analytics, social and digital consumptions signals, and culinary trend analysis to uncover evolving consumer flavour demands in Canada. The research delivered measurable success in innovation and commercial performance and, more importantly, led to a permanent shift in how Kraft Heinz approaches innovation.
2026 Winner-Business Impact in CPG: Keurig Dr Pepper and Ipsos for collaborating on a two phase research project that included a professional semiotics analysis of the category combined with a series of focus group on the Atypique brand. The research provided actionable recommendations leading to increases in purchase intent.
2026 Winner Business Impact in Financial Services: TD Bank for employing a mix-methods approach involving online surveys and focus groups to identify ways to enhance the end-to-end branch experience. The research identified controllable levers for enhancing in-branch experience as well as addressing barriers to digital adoption.
Social Sector Impact Award: Awarded in recognition of excellence in an insights or analytics project that results in a demonstrable social sector impact and/or benefit.
Runner up: Bell, Inca-Nexxt Intelligence and the Logit Group for the use of an AI-facilitated conversational survey that provided insights to guide the evolution of Bell’s social responsibility strategy.
2026 Winner: Pink Triangle and Environics Research for employing a multi-phase, mixed method approach to support the Pink Paper on Health, a study examining disparities between 2SLGBTQIA+ and non-2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians. The study found stark differences and the resulting Pink Paper supported health advocacy, education and media awareness.
Public Sector Impact Award: Awarded in recognition of excellence in an insights or analytics project that results in a demonstrable public sector impact and/or benefit.
2026 Winner: City of Calgary, Advanis and Ipsos for conducting four complementary, integrated studies, each with a distinct policy lens. The combined results informed Council and Administration discussions on budget trade offs, and investment priorities.
The Innovation and Advancement in Marketing Insights and Analytics Award: Is awarded in recognition of an initiative that showcases new techniques or tools, or uses tools and techniques in a novel way, paving the way for a new direction for insights and analytics work in the future.
2026 Runner Up: Bell, Inca-Nexxt Intelligence and the Logit Group for the use of an AI-facilitated conversational survey that provided insights to guide the evolution of Bell’s social responsibility strategy.
2026 Runner Up: TD & Ipsos for conducting an exploratory pilot that found that synthetic data offered value in enhancing but not replacing survey data for a key tracking study.
2026 Winner: Shopper1st for developing an innovative approach to package design testing that considers subconscious triggers and quantitative testing in a simulated shelf environment. Their approach allowed their client Cuddly Pet Foods to deliver outcomes faster and with more commercial impact.
“Congratulations to all of this year’s winners,” stated Margaret Brigley, Chair of CRIC and CEO, Narrative Research. “The winners showcase some of the most impactful insights and significant innovations that have taken place in our industry over the past year.”
CRIC also wishes to thank the six judges who had the challenging task of identifying the winners among a pool of strong nominations. The judges for the 2026 Insights Excellence Awards were: Anastasia Arabia, Catherine Kelly, David McVetty, Nathaniel Stone, Eva Tolkunow and Robert Wong.
About CRIC
The Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) is Canada’s voice of the research, analytics, and insights profession both domestically and globally. CRIC represents the highest standards, ethics, and best practices; provides effective promotion and advocacy of the industry; serves as a source of information and thought leadership; and is a forum for collective industry action. CRIC’s members include Canada’s leading research agencies as well as client organizations, academic institutions, and other industry partners.
For more information, visit www.canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca or contact Grace Woo at [email protected] or John Tabone at [email protected].
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