Cash-strapped RTE is set to spend €450,000 on polling to monitor what the public thinks of it.
Montrose chiefs want to know the public’s perception of the broadcaster, gauging opinions on questions including “value for money”.
The polling will involve continuous tracking surveys of a representative sample of 2,000 adults in Ireland, whose attitudes towards RTE’s brands, reputation and services will be noted during 25-minute interviews.
The surveys will provide “insights into perceptions and beliefs about the reputation of RTE, what it stands for and its contribution to society”, according to tender documents.
In June, the network told the Government it was anticipating a deficit of €36million for 2020, although the forecast improved and a deficit of between €10million to €20million is now considered likely.
The broadcaster has recorded an operating deficit in each of the past four years.
It announced 200 job losses and significant pay cuts as part of cost-saving measures last year. It is due to reveal the salaries of its top earners again in the coming weeks.
The contract for the research is valued at €450,000 excluding VAT, according to the tender documents, and is for a one-year term that can be renewed for five years.
The successful contractor will commence in January and will present biannual reports based on its opinion polling.
Polling will be split into three modules: reputation tracking, brand tracking, and service usage.
The tender documents state: “This research is required to track public perceptions and sentiment towards RTE in fulfilment of its strategy and in the evolution of what RTE stands for, monitor the health of the RTE brand portfolio, and measure awareness and consumption of RTE services across each distribution channel.”
Brand tracking was first introduced by RTE in 2006. It has also separately conducted corporate reputation surveys in the past to measure the image and reputation of the organisation.
