Toby Syfret joined J. Walter Thompson in April 1980 as an Account Planner, having spent three years as lecturer in psychology at Hatfield Polytechnic. From January 1981 he was given responsibility to monitor media developments in the UK and in November 1982 was appointed Head of New Media for JWT Europe. In addition to media responsibilities on specific accounts, his work has included numerous magazine articles, several consultancies and general documents reflecting agency interest in the new media and other developments such as sponsorship.