Q&A with Katy Loria, Chief Revenue Officer at Screenvision

Katy Loria, EVP, Chief Revenue Officer at Screenvision, made a huge career transition from television and digital at Viacom in Chicago to cinema advertising at Screenvision in New York. She says that “after so many years at Viacom, which was a wonderful place to work, I wanted a change of pace. I went from big company to small company, from public company to private company and from consumer facing brand to non-consumer facing. For me it was a new and different challenge.”

In this fascinating interview, Loria talks about her work at Screenvision, the transitions in the movie business and how it differs from television, how she achieves life balance as the mother of twins and, looking forward, how she thinks the media landscape will change over the next five years.

CW: What is Screenvision’s competitive set?

KL: There are a couple of ways to define that. The real answer is that our competitive set is the video marketplace. If we are downstream, there are just a few of us – a couple of us – that sell cinema advertising. That would look like an obvious competitive set. But in my opinion, at that point, you have already missed the broader competitive set which is really television. Television is the biggest market, and the opportunity is the dollars we see flow from television to digital video  - and there is where cinema needs to be a bigger part of the mix. So dollars that have historically been in TV that want a new home because of fragmentation and declining ratings, DVRs and fast forwarding through content, as those dollars seek new options to stay current with consumers and how they consume media, that is where we would like to be part of that conversation.  It is really anybody – brand or agency – seeking a home for a video message.   

CW: What is your definition of television?

KL: It’s a box.  My definition of television is that it is literally the box that is still, in most, but not all of our family rooms. But what comes through that box is changing all the time and so are all of the options for us to consume content. TV is one place that we do that, but it is not just only place, as we watch more and more content on mobile devices. But TV still is the significant conduit by which content is comes in, however the traditional ways of consumer linear televisions is changing rapidly with more  OTT and all sorts of other streaming options. 

CW: You are a working mother. How do you achieve work life balance?

KL: It’s a great question. I think the first thing you do is lose the word “balance” because it puts too much pressure on the question. What I learned over the years is to embrace imperfection and recognize that there is an ebb and a flow to it. There are times when I am going to feel that I am excelling at my career maybe at the expense of the home front but that flips around and goes the other way too. The other thing I have come to understand (maybe it is just a rationale) that maybe the small moments matter more than the large moments. So I may miss a soccer game or school concerts but I got home before dark last night and played ping pong in the driveway with my son. So if you believe that it is those little moments that add up to what is really important, I am doing okay. 

CW: What advice would you give a college student today regarding a career?

KL: Ask lots of questions and listen really well to the answers. The more people and experiences that you can accumulate the more, well-rounded your approach to life and business will be. And I think there are great role models out there. So find that person and pick up the phone and call. Don’t be afraid to lean on people for advice and questions and help because we like to give it. The ability to find and embrace a mentor is a great approach.

 This article first appeared on www.MediaBizBloggers.com