Rep Data Is Heading to Esomar Congress 2026

Rep Data Team · August 20, 2026 · 2 min read

Rep Data is heading to Valencia for Esomar Congress 2026, Sept. 1-4, with plenty happening over the four days. We’ll be speaking about new approaches to survey fraud detection, meeting with researchers at Stand 41 and finding out whether our work on detecting agentic survey fraud takes home the Tony Cowling Foundation Innovation Award.

Shortlisted for the Tony Cowling Foundation Innovation Award

We’re honored to share that Rep Data has been shortlisted for the Tony Cowling Foundation Innovation Award for our AI-driven approach to detecting agentic survey fraud. The award recognizes new ideas and approaches advancing market research practice, with Rep Data’s entry focused on a growing data quality problem: AI agents that can enter surveys and produce responses that look convincingly human.

The recognition reflects our team’s work to understand this emerging form of fraud and develop ways to detect it as the technology becomes more sophisticated. We’re especially pleased to see data quality represented among the innovations being recognized at Congress this year. The winner will be announced live by Josep Montserrat, chair of the Tony Cowling Foundation, on Sept. 2.

Meet the Rep Data Team

We’ll have team members from across Rep Data and ReDem in Valencia, including two speakers taking the stage during Congress. If you’re attending, come find us at Stand 41 or connect with any of the team:

Attend Our Speaking Session

Detect, Trace, Learn: Turning Suspect Interviews Into Actionable Fraud Patterns
Sept. 2 | 15:00-15:20 | Room 2, Emergence
Speakers: Julia Mittermayr, Rep Data, and Steven Snell, ReDem

Julia and Sebastian will share how combining signals from different stages of a survey can reveal patterns that individual fraud checks may miss. They’ll look at pre-survey indicators such as device and entry patterns alongside in-survey behavior including response coherence and typing dynamics, then show how traceback analysis can connect suspicious interviews and identify repeatable patterns.

They’ll also share results from testing the approach across multiple countries, including what the team has learned about improving detection while reducing false positives. For researchers dealing with more sophisticated fraud, the session offers a practical look at how those signals can be used together.

Let's Connect in Valencia

Between the award, our session and four days at Stand 41, there will be plenty of opportunities to catch up with the Rep Data team. Stop by to talk about survey fraud, data quality or the research challenges you’re working through. You can also reach out to any of our team members before Congress if you’d like to set up a time to meet.

See you in Valencia!