Ruth Gaviria

In what seems to be a never ending battle between perception and reality, Entercom Chief Marketing Officer Ruth Gaviria spends the lion's share of her working days combating some advertisers' perception that radio is essentially yesterday's medium by marketing Entercom stations - and radio in general - as a still-potent platform for advertisers of all stripes. Here's how she's doing it...

What made you decide to segue from Univision to Entercom?

When I made the decision to become the first-ever CMO at Entercom, a radio broadcaster, little did I know we would merge with CBS Radio and become one of the two largest audio companies in the U.S. I was attracted to Entercom for several reasons, including our reputation as the best radio operator in the business, our commitment to investing in local brands and the fact that everyone at Entercom, beginning with David Field, is passionate about the future of radio. It was actually pretty contagious.

Has your job responsibilities changes or grown since you've come over?

I lead marketing, communications and public relations, shared creative services and branding in an organization that is flat and matrixed. What is very refreshing at Entercom is that we have a culture of collaboration and we can agree to disagree. This makes us nimble and laser-focused on what we need to solve and represent the interests of our key stakeholders with care and authenticity. With our merger, my team is not only involved in partnering with local markets, but also with new and exciting offerings like the launch of Radio.com, the fastest growing digital audio app in the country, the National Audio Network, TWIN (Traffic, Weather, Information and News short duration) and a series of highly rated local brands that are #1 or #2 in virtually all markets. We are busy!

Describe the main challenges you (and in the big picture) Entercom and radio in general faces in selling itself.

We live in a world where data is king, yet people are ignoring the fact that radio is the #1 reach medium in the United States because it is not the shiny new toy. Radio is an alternative to TV in mass reach and we as an industry are making big strides towards improving on our attribution reporting so that everyone can feel awesome about radio's ROI. I am particularly psyched about Entercom Audience Analytics.

How does one overcome the perception of radio being a media "dinosaur?"

I am going to start with you ... "Radio is not a dinosaur, radio is hot." As the centerpiece of all things audio, sonic branding, smart speakers and voice technology, radio is very hot. Only radio is live, unscripted and hyper-local. It is the only place where consumers can interact with a media brand, discover new content and an expert perspective from an on-air personality. We are truly back to the future here.

Is there a way for radio to market its own "cool" factor? If so, how?

Radio is part of the conversation at CES, SXSW, VoiceCon, Cannes Lions, Digiday, Advertising Week and the ANA Masters of Marketing. I think we are way cooler than what we are giving ourselves credit for.

Many in radio keep pounding on the 93% reach advantage, yet it hasn't seemed to persuade the advertising community to any great extent. If that's so, what other tack should Entercom and radio take?

Here's the thing: It is not only about reach; it is about engaged reach and ROI. Entercom's answer is to grow engagement across all of our platforms, invest in content and evolve analytics and attribution to deliver superlative ROI to our clients. We are truly emboldened by our opportunity to make a meaningful impact on growing the brands that advertise with us.

Even though the data seems to back radio up, the perception of the "shiny new toy" -- that being digital -- seems to still be a potent lure to advertisers. How does Entercom and radio in general combat that perception?

We are actually leaning-in on digital. We strongly believe that a unified listener experience that is time and device-agnostic is how we can meet consumers where they are; Radio.com is that unified experience. That said, the space is wide and deep to create content that consumers want to discover and have an affinity for.

Are you doing anything special to attract those advertisers who target Millennials? If so, what?

Entercom reaches one in three Millennials. We are #1 in local sports and many key music formats like alternative music ... and that is content Millennials seek and crave. There is a huge misperception that radio does not connect with Millennials. The truth is that we have never been more connected to Millennials than now.

What are radio's best assets to market - its format brands? Its star personalities? Its concerts/events?

Radio makes a genuine and authentic connection with a listener every day; it is personal. Radio is a companion to the majority of America. Not one medium can say that. This is our secret sauce; this is why we are the least disrupted medium.

If you had your druthers, what aspects would you like to market about radio that you have yet to do?

I think it would be very cool for advertisers to give us their testimonials loud and clear. From Procter & Gamble to AirBNB, people need to hear that there are a whole lot of advertisers that are investing in radio in a big way.

How do you measure progress and success when it comes to marketing Entercom and radio?

We need to strive for no less than 10% of the media pie in 2019. We need to hold ourselves accountable to that.

Do you have one-year, five-year or 10-year goals or challenges to accomplish? What are they?

My goal is that 10 years from now, advertisers are spending more on audio than TV.