Building a career in Brisbane Sales, with Larissa Miller

Tell us about your role, career progression and what it entails?

I currently work as a Digital & Publishing Sales Executive in Brisbane and I absolutely love my job! I started working at Nine 2 years ago and I started out as a Radio Sales Coordinator. This was my first job in the media industry and I was absolutely elated to be working for such a well renowned and respected media company. My role entailed booking in campaigns, facilitating the instruction of radio material and post reporting. Then after about a year in this role, I was then offered the exciting opportunity to progress my career and moved into my current role as a Digital and Publishing Sales Executive. In this role I work across all of Nine’s digital and publishing assets including 9Now, nine.com.au, our print mastheads (The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review) and also across Digital Audio. 

Can you tell us about how you first came to join Nine, and why?

I studied a Bachelor of Mass Communications majoring in Journalism and Public Relations so I have always had a desire to work in the media industry. During Covid I worked as a PA to a Barrister, but always saw this as just a professional stepping stone and spent the back end of 2021 looking for media jobs. At the time I actually received two job offers, the Radio Coordinator position at Nine and a Marketing Coordinator role at another company. Ultimately the reason I chose Nine was because I saw the real potential for career progression and good thing I did, because within less than a year of working at Nine I was offered a promotion – so I chose well!

Tell us about some of the key moments you’re most proud of that have shaped your career at Nine over the years.

1. First time I won a brief – a few months into working as a Radio Co-ord, my boss at the time went on a 2 week holiday and during this time I had to respond on a client brief. This was the first time I had done this and something I was a little nervous about, but with the support of my manager and team we won the brief – such an awesome feeling! 
2. Winning an All Stars Award – after about a year of being at Nine I was recognised by my peers for the work I had done throughout the quarter and was presented with an award and a $500 Myer gift voucher! This was such a lovely gesture and something I was so very grateful for. 
3. Getting a promotion! The day I was approached about stepping into my current role is a day I’ll always remember. It was very humbling to know that I was being recognised for the work I was doing even when some days I felt as though I wasn’t making much of a difference – shows that people are always watching and to remind yourself that there is always value in your work, not to be so hard on yourself and be proud of the work you do! 

What surprises you the most about working in Sales?

The creativity and opportunity for collaboration within the broader team – oh and also the fabulous array of fun events we get to go to! When I first heard of “sales” I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but boy was I excited to learn very quickly that sales is so much more than just selling advertising. It’s diverse, exciting, fast paced, ever evolving, collaborative and creative! Not to mention, the team and management are so incredibly supportive, encouraging and approachable. 

I’ve also had the opportunity to do some pretty cool things during my time at Nine – voice recorded for a radio ad at the 4BC studio, got to sit at the 9News desk and present for Queensland’s Inside Nine, attended cool media events such as: BAA, a panel discussion for the Logies, conferences interstate, worked with some awesome radio talent, met Melissa Downes & Andrew Lofthouse and sometimes I get the privilege of seeing and and saying hello to the king himself – Wally Lewis.

What’s your favourite product or brand at Nine and why?

I love our Engage Now commercial product. This is a 9Now product in which a commercial is embedded with a QR code that is shown on the bottom left hand corner of the client’s ad. Users watching can scan the QR code on their phone and be redirected to the client’s website. Such a groovy and impactful way to advertise!

How do you collaborate with other parts of the business?

I get to collaborate with both the broader team in cross platform responses, meaning I sometimes get to work with the Radio and Television teams in creating truly valuable advertising solutions for clients. As well as this, since the Digi & Pub vertical of the business is so diverse, I regularly get the opportunity to work with our creative solutions and in house marketing team, Powered, who work with us and our clients in creating amazing premium content, whether that be your print ads in the papers, standard commercials on 9Now and nine.com.au or our more integrated assets such as sponsorships or interactive ads such as our Engage Now product. 

Anything else you’d like to share?

I absolutely love working for Nine. I feel very privileged to be a part of not only an incredibly diverse and exciting company, but a wonderful, supportive and encouraging team. Looking forward to developing my skill set and continuing to expand my knowledge as everyday I learn something new, which to me is pretty exciting!