Young Gun profiles takes a look at the young talent across the Australian advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector. Aiming to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Laila Casey-Walsh: client executive at dentsu QLD
Time in current role/time at company:
Three years in April.
How long have you been in the industry?
Three years in April.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
I was in my final year of uni studying business and media and comms in 2020, and I had no idea what I wanted to do post-graduation. Thankfully, I managed to score an internship at a media agency through QUT, however that was quickly dismantled by COVID. Desperate for exposure to an “adult job” I harassed my poor unit coordinator and managed to commence the internship in the final two months of my degree, giving me a taste of the media world. Following this, there was a client associate role going at dentsu QLD that I was fortunate enough to land, and the rest really is history.
Who is your right-hand who guides you day to day?
My client director, Courtney Cholakos (CC) has been my ride or die since day one. She has taught me so much, and I truly wouldn’t be here without her support and guidance. She has fostered so much growth within our team, and I can always count on her for advice both professionally and personally.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
There’s so much that I love about the media industry, including all the fun events and how stimulating and fast paced the work we do is, however it really is the tight knit community that we have that makes it, particularly here in Queensland. Speaking to friends in completely different industries, I know how rare it is to step into any kind of professional setting and feel totally at ease with the warmth of the people around you, so I know we’re extremely lucky.
And the biggest challenge?
Communication is at the heart of what we do, however I do find that having to have difficult conversations, whether that be with clients, publishers, or with my team internally, has been the most challenging to navigate. That being said, I’ve found that I’ve always come out the other side of those conversations with slightly more confidence and knowledge than before I picked up the phone. As another side note, when I started I had quite the gen-z phobia of making a phone call - safe to say that was cured when I was on the phone within my first week to media publishers.
Whose job have you set your sight on in the future?
At the moment, I’d love to continue to climb up the ranks within the agency, and eventually be managing a team of my own - potentially even somewhere overseas!
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Technology is amazing for tapping into new ideas that you otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to; a LinkedIn post of a wild activation somewhere in the EU, or a TikTok of some new form of UCG. There’s so much possibility that is yet to be explored and it’s exciting.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you:
My OG dream job was to be the tooth fairy - that was quickly shattered when mum pointed out it wouldn’t be particularly profitable.
In five years time, I’ll be:
Feeling fulfilled and challenged within my role, ideally with a pet French bulldog accompanying me into the office.
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