Neville Jeffress

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Neville Jeffress (July 29, 1920 – September 13, 2007) was an Australian advertising executive, and the founder of Media Monitors Australia.

[edit] Background

Neville Jeffress was raised and educated in Sydney. In 1936 he joined the Afternoon Sun newspaper in Sydney as a clerk in the publishing department, before enrolling in the Royal Australian Air Force as a Wireless Operator/Airgunner in 1941, where he served for five years.

On his return, he purchased a newsagency in Fairlight and commenced a classified advertising service from the rear of the newsagency. Neville Jeffress Advertising grew into a national operation operating in all states. The agency was sold to the USA-based conglomerate, TMP Worldwide Inc in 1996 and at that time was the largest Australian-owned advertising agency, placing the greatest number of classified advertisements of any agency in the world.

In 1982, Jeffress purchased NSW Country Press and merged it with the Sydney press clipping firm, Lynch Pidler Pty. Ltd. The new company, Neville Jeffress/Pidler Pty. Ltd., grew through the acquisition of other press clipping services, including Australia's oldest service, the Australian Press Cutting Agency, founded in Melbourne in 1904. Melbourne's Australian Reference Service and Media Monitors Australia were also acquired, giving the organisation its current name.