Michael Nettlefold is a leader in outdoor advertising, a man with advertising in his blood and a natural born salesman.
Michael Nettlefold has advertising in his blood. As an 18-year-old, Michael worked from the back of a company van, climbing ladders and slathering posters with splodges of paste to make sure his dad’s outdoor advertising sites across Melbourne were up to date and generating revenue for the family company.
His father, David, is regarded by many as Australian advertising royalty. “Dad’s been in the industry since he was very young as well,” says Michael, who strayed from advertising for a while to become an AFL player with St Kilda – and, later, the club’s CEO – before coming back to the family fold.
“Recently Dad was inducted into the advertising hall of fame. He’s the only outdoor advertising executive that’s had that bestowed upon them. Dad’s effectively been the pioneer of the Australian advertising industry as we know it today, but back in my early days when I was 18 it was a poster business and today it’s a massive digital industry, with digital media.”
Indeed, the industry in Australia has blossomed from a value of $550 million a year in 2013 to today being worth more than $1 billion annually. That rise has been driven by the explosion of digital advertising that is now on display along the streets of our cities, at our airports and railway stations, as well as internationally.
Michael played a significant role in the development of the outdoor advertising industry, and he was among the first entrepreneurs to bring outdoor advertising to airports in Australia.
Michael, now 61, says anyone looking to start their own business today needs to believe in themselves.
“You need to be brave,” he says. “You need to back yourself. You need to be prepared to take the risk and you need to work pretty hard. Everybody works hard but you need to work exceptionally hard because you have a lot of challenges along the way."

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