DataDiggers

“No incidents” doesn’t always mean “no problems.”

Yesterday, our colleague Liviu-Teodor Micu, Research & Insights Manager at DataDiggers, joined the launch of “Snapshot of Cybersecurity in Romania”, an event organized by Fort and promocrat.

DataDiggers was glad to support the analysis of the research, conducted among more than 200 decision-makers in Romania.

Some of the findings deserve attention:
▪ More mature organizations report 5.5× more cybersecurity incidents than vulnerable ones: 22% vs. 4%. Not necessarily because they are attacked more often, but because they are better at detecting what happens.
▪ Organizations that train their employees report phishing incidents more than 7× as often as those that do not.
▪ Around 70% say they rely on critical applications without which their activity could be disrupted.
▪ Yet only 45% report a sufficiently high level of cybersecurity maturity, while the share drops to 27% when looking beyond declared preparedness.

As Liviu highlighted at the beginning of the event, cybersecurity is not exclusively an IT responsibility. Management decisions matter, but so does the awareness and behavior of every employee.

Thank you to Fort and Promocrat for inviting us to contribute to this conversation and for bringing together experts from across the industry to discuss what cybersecurity preparedness really looks like in Romania.

What happens when you ask the same market about the same brand, but change how you ask the questions? The answer can be surprisingly different.

At Esomar Congress 2026, Issam Ali presented on the Discovery Stage a new DataDiggers research designed by Liviu-Teodor Micu:
“Metamorphosis”, they said...

We compared two approaches. One questionnaire followed a more traditional structure. The other was shorter, simpler and more conversational.

A few findings caught our attention:
▪️Current usage shifted from 57% to 45%, depending on how usage was defined and asked.
▪️All-time usage moved in the opposite direction: from 79% to 92%.
▪️Awareness looked different too: 91% aided awareness in one approach versus 100% total awareness and 96% informed awareness in the other.
▪️With a more natural recommendation question, 56% described Brand X as a “Top Choice”, while another 37% called it a solid option.
▪️The shorter questionnaire took around 4 minutes instead of 8, yet 100% said the questions were clear, 98% found it friendly, and fewer respondents felt it took too long.

The point isn’t that one question is universally “right” and another is “wrong”. It’s that questionnaire design shapes the answers we collect.

Sometimes, research metamorphosis starts not with a new technology, but with reconsidering something as familiar as the way we ask a question.

Want to see the complete experiment, methodology and results?

👉 Download the full presentation here:
https://www.datadiggers-mr.com/insights-library/metamorphosis-they-said

That’s a wrap for Esomar Congress 2026. 🇪🇸

What a few days in Valencia!
1,365 delegates. 80 countries. 200+ client brands. 94 exhibitors and sponsors. 170+ speakers across 4 stages. And, of course, plenty of conversations, ideas, new connections and memorable moments along the way.

A big thank you to everyone who visited DataDiggers at Stand #21, joined our presentation, stopped for a chat, challenged us with a question or simply came by to say hello.

And a special thank you to our team for representing DataDiggers, sharing ideas and making the most of every conversation throughout the event.
▪️ Daniel Dunose
▪️ Paula Elena Pislaru
▪️ Issam Ali

We’re leaving Valencia with new perspectives, new connections and plenty to think about.

Next year, Esomar Congress heads to Canada for a particularly special edition, as Esomar celebrates its 80th anniversary.
See you in Montréal!

Final day at Esomar Congress 2026. 🇪🇸

If we haven’t met yet, there’s still time. Come find Daniel Dunose, Paula Elena Pislaru and Issam Ali at Stand #21, ground floor. They’ll be there throughout the day, ready to chat, and we still have a few surprise gifts waiting for our visitors. 🎁

We’re also ending Congress with a little extra excitement:
Closing & Awards 🏆 12:50 – 13:10 | Auditorium 1 – Impact

DataDiggers is in the running for:
🌟 Best Exhibitor Award
🌟 Best Event Paper Award

Our Congress research, “Metamorphosis”, they said..., was developed by Liviu Micu and presented on the Discovery Stage by Issam Ali, exploring how changing the way we design research can influence both the respondent experience and the insights we collect.

One last day. One last chance to stop by Stand #21.
See you there!

Day 2 at Esomar Congress 2026 is almost behind us, and the energy has stayed high all day.

More conversations. More new connections. More ideas exchanged across the Congress floor.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Stand #21 today to meet the DataDiggers team.

If you’re joining us for Day 3, come and see Daniel, Paula and Issam at our stand. We’d be glad to continue the conversation.

And later this evening, we’re looking forward to Valencia in Bloom, a great way to close the day with the Congress community.

See you tomorrow at Stand #21. 🌿

The energy at Esomar Congress is definitely in full bloom. 🌸🇪🇸

Busy halls, great conversations, new connections and plenty of ideas being exchanged across the insights community.

If we haven’t met yet, come find the DataDiggers team at Stand #21, ground floor.

Daniel, Paula and Issam are there throughout the day and ready to talk research, data quality, technology, new methodologies and everything shaping the future of insights.

And after another full day at Congress, we’re looking forward to Valencia in Bloom tonight. 🌸

See you at Stand #21!

Day 2 in Valencia. We’re ready. 🇪🇸

The conversations continue at Esomar Congress 2026, and you can find DataDiggers again today at Stand #21, ground floor.

Daniel Dunose, Paula Elena Pislaru and Issam Ali will be there throughout the day, ready to talk research, data quality, technology and new methodologies.

👀 We have a little extra reason to stop by today. We’ve prepared a few surprise gifts for our visitors. Come say hello and see what we have waiting for you.

Yesterday, Issam also took the Discovery Stage with our presentation: “Metamorphosis”, they said...

The session explored what can happen when researchers challenge familiar ways of designing research, simplify the experience and remember that there are real people on the other side of every questionnaire.

If you missed the presentation, no problem. Come find Issam at Stand #21 and ask him about it. He’ll be happy to walk you through the research, the experiment and some of the insights that sparked so many conversations after the session.

📍 Stand #21, Ground Floor
Come for the research conversation. Stay for the surprises. 😉

See you at the stand!

What a day in Valencia. Great energy, great conversations, and a lot of lovely people! 🇪🇸

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to meet Daniel, Paula and Issam today. We talked research, data quality, technology, AI, methodologies and the challenges our industry is facing, and some of the best conversations went well beyond the usual topics and sparked new questions and ideas we’ll definitely be taking home with us.

One of today’s highlights was Issam Ali taking the Discovery Stage with “Metamorphosis”, they said...

Three ideas we hope stay with the audience:
▪️ Metamorphosis starts with the mindset. New technology means little if we continue doing everything exactly as we always have.
▪️ How we ask matters. A questionnaire can be shorter and more conversational without sacrificing clarity or the quality of the respondent experience.
▪️ Respondent attention is a privilege, not a given. We should design questionnaires like products people would actually want to engage with.

A big thank you to everyone who joined Issam’s presentation. Seeing such a strong audience was already rewarding, but what we appreciated even more was how many people stayed afterwards, asked questions and continued the conversation with us long after the session had ended.

We’re not done yet. If we haven’t met you today, come visit us tomorrow at Stand #21, ground floor. Daniel Dunose, Paula Elena Pislaru and Issam Ali will be there and ready for more conversations, more ideas and, hopefully, a few new perspectives.

See you tomorrow! 👋

We’re live at Esomar Congress 2026 in Valencia! 🇪🇸

Come find DataDiggers at Stand #21 on the ground floor, where our team is ready to talk research, technology, data quality and what’s changing across the insights industry.

Meet:
▪️ Daniel Dunose — CEO
▪️ Paula Elena Pislaru — COO
▪️ Issam Ali — Global Growth Manager

If you’re already at Congress, there’s another reason to join us in just a few minutes.

🎤 At 11:10 AM, Issam will take the 📍 Discovery Stage to present our new research: “Metamorphosis”, they said...

A session about challenging familiar approaches, questioning assumptions and asking a simple question: What if we try this instead?

Come see Issam on stage, then stop by Stand #21 to continue the conversation with the DataDiggers team.

See you there!