GIM Named “Top of Class” Once Again: TOCii Award 2026 for Qualitative Market Research

The industry portal marktforschung.de, in cooperation with the industry trade show succeet, annually honors the best providers in the insights industry. Following last year’s award (in the Customer Journeys category), GIM was honored this year with the TOCii Award in the “Qualitative Market Research” category.

The honor underscores GIM’s leading role in the premier discipline of market research: Here, the institute impressed the expert jury with its in-depth methodological expertise and consistently innovative approach. Patricia Blau, Corporate Director at GIM, personally accepted the award during the official ceremony on the succeet stage.

Focusing on the “Why”

Qualitative research has been at the heart of GIM since 1987. While data and numbers describe the “what,” GIM provides the crucial “why” behind it. In an era of growing volumes of AI-generated data, the ability to accurately interpret human motives, emotions, and cultural contexts is becoming a decisive competitive advantage for companies.

Innovation Meets Tradition

The award specifically recognizes GIM’s approach of combining traditional qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews and ethnography, with state-of-the-art digital tools and AI-powered analytics. In this way, GIM bridges the gap between deep psychological insight and the speed of modern decision-making processes.

“GIM started in 1987 as a purely qualitative institute—with the conviction that good research must be rooted in real life,” says GIM’s management. “For us, Life Centricity means understanding people in their everyday contexts, both private and professional: in routines, areas of tension, and decision-making logic. Not as an average, but in all their diversity and contradictions.”

About the TOCii Award

The TOCii (Top Of Class Insights Industry) Award is regarded as one of the most prestigious accolades in the market research industry across the German-speaking world. A multi-stage selection process and a jury of high-caliber experts ensure that only those institutes are honored that rank among the absolute best in their respective fields.

For GIM, the award is further proof of its position as one of Germany’s leading and most innovative institutes.