Entercom Signs Subaru for 2009 Mountain Music Lounge Sponsorship

Bala Cynwyd, PA (January 13, 2009) – Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM) today announced that Carter Subaru – one of Puget Sound’s leading auto dealerships – will sponsor the 2009 KMTT-FM Mountain Music Lounge, an annual concert series featuring live, in-studio performances by some of the country’s leading artists.  The sponsorship represents the next level in partnership between the two companies, who first collaborated in 2008. 

Early last year, Entercom and Subaru developed one of the most successful cause marketing campaigns of its kind, “Carter Subaru, On the Road to Carbon Neutral.”  Aimed at addressing the increasingly significant issue of climate change, the program set out to offset emissions from hundreds of cars sold each month at the Carter Subaru dealership.  The goal was to plant one tree for every car test-driven – and three for every car purchased – along the Mountains to Sound Greenway, a scenic byway on the I-90 corridor stretching from Seattle into Central Washington.  From beginning to end, the campaign integrated each of radio’s unique features – audio, visual and experiential – to engage Entercom's loyal listeners and potential Subaru buyers on the concept of carbon neutrality. 

“This second pairing of Carter Subaru and Entercom is a perfect fit, said Danny Levine, President of NationAd Communications, Carter’s strategic marketing firm.  “Given Subaru’s long-standing commitment to environmental awareness – and as the first auto plant in the U.S. to achieve zero landfill status – it’s only natural for the company to continue its engagement with an equally passionate radio partner, one that consistently delivers results.”

In a challenging automotive sales climate, results of the 2008 “Carter Subaru, On the Road to Carbon Neutral” campaign were unprecedented: 11,000 trees were planted within one year; Carter dealerships increased their lead as the highest-volume sales leader in the state of Washington; and there were 58,369 digital leads to Carter’s family of websites, representing a 0.13% conversion. 

Commenting on the new Carter Subaru Mountain Music Lounge sponsorship, Jerry McKenna, Vice President/Market Manager of Entercom Seattle said, “We are extremely excited to partner with Carter Subaru for the 2009 Mountain Music Lounge series.  Based on the overwhelming success of our first collaboration, we knew ours would be a long-lasting and mutually rewarding relationship.” 

The Carter Subaru Mountain Music Lounge will showcase up to 75 artists throughout the upcoming year, including James Morrison, Shawn Colvin, Fiction Family, Razorlight and Andrew Bird.  In addition to holding naming rights of the series, Carter Subaru will be heavily involved in the promotion and distribution of “On the Mountain, Volume 15,” The Mountain’s premier annual CD featuring standout Mountain Music Lounge performances.  Each year, limited quantities of the CD are sold at Seattle-area Starbucks, with net proceeds benefiting The Wilderness Society.  Over the past 14 years, The Mountain has donated nearly $1.5 million from sales of the popular CD.

The Carter Subaru Mountain Music Lounge represents a marketing evolution based on the distinctive ability of radio to deliver targeted, effective and powerful brand messages.  For information on sponsorship and marketing opportunities in other Entercom markets, please contact Kathryn Kercher at kkercher@entercom.com.