Rita Ferro
These days Disney Media encompasses a vast playground of platforms and live events. From expanding the client roster to continuing to craft innovative integrations with longtime partners including Subway and Nintendo to escalating media around the Radio Disney Music Awards, Ferro oversees it all. This year, she launched a multicultural sales team to service clients looking for total market opportunities to reach Latino families. “This year was the inflection point for kids advertisers,” she says, “where they stopped talking about opportunities to reach kids across screens and actually bought their media that way in the Upfront.”
How can cable do a better job at supporting the industry’s women?
The creation of a formal mentorship or sponsorship program for women in the industry. Providing opportunities for mentoring and sponsorship is key, the earlier young woman are exposed and have the chance to spend time with senior woman in the cable industry, the better prepared they will be to deal with the challenges they will face and take advantages of the opportunities that they will be presented with.
What’s been the biggest story in cable this year?
In the kids cable space, this year was the inflection point for kids advertisers where they stopped talking about opportunities to reach kids across screens and actually bought their media that way in the Upfront. Traditional kids TV advertisers this year spent their ad dollars in video across all screens: linear TV, STBVOD, and Digital video.
Best trick for maintaining the personal-professional life balance?
I don’t think there are any magic tricks, it’s all about prioritizing what matters most today. Some days that means family will take priority because they should and they have to. When you show up to work every day and give 100 percent, taking the time to do personal things that will come up will be just fine with your boss. And whenever possible, I employ the work-life integration philosophy. I am fortunate that I work for Disney, which allows me to bring my daughter Tatiana with me too many events we host with clients.
When not in the office, where are we most likely to find you?
Spending time with my family watching movies, at one of Tatiana’s basketball games, or redecorating one of the rooms at home.
