re = /\w+(?=:\s*"[^"]*")/m
str = '{
example:"hi there",
dateTime: "01/01/1970 bla:bla"
}'
subst = '"\\0"'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
puts result
cmUgPSAvXHcrKD89OlxzKiJbXiJdKiIpL20Kc3RyID0gJ3sKICAgZXhhbXBsZToiaGkgdGhlcmUiLAogICBkYXRlVGltZTogIjAxLzAxLzE5NzAgYmxhOmJsYSIKfScKc3Vic3QgPSAnIlxcMCInCnJlc3VsdCA9IHN0ci5nc3ViKHJlLCBzdWJzdCkKCnB1dHMgcmVzdWx0