NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner has offered his full support to a new national campaign championing ‘The Power of Exhibition’ in driving business activity.

At an industry briefing in Sydney this morning, the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) chief executive, Joyce DiMascio, said there was two tiers to the campaign – “the first was about the effectiveness of exhibitions as a marketing channel and the second was about the flow-on benefits."

"The campaign features ambassadors for the sector, people with skin in the game who tell us about the Power of Exhibitions (see TVC below) in their businesses. Their messages are at the heart of our campaign – they are unscripted, authentic and powerful." she said.

Stoner gave details of a new facility at Glebe Island which will be the home of Sydney’s biggest exhibitions from February next year until the end of 2016, when new state-of-the-art facilities are opened at Darling Harbour.

“Whilst the transition period won’t be the easiest of times for the industry, I do encourage people to embrace the challenge and use it as an opportunity to plan for exciting new era in Sydney post-2016,” said Stoner, adding that the NSW Government is committed to growing the state’s strong exhibition, events and convention industry.

As part of the briefing, a panel discussion was held where Peter Russell, general marketing manager at Fisher & Paykel Australia, warned marketers about being a bit too quick to throw most of their budgets at digital rather than look elsewhere for value, such as in the exhibition space.

"In this headlong rush to throw as much as you can [from a marketers perspective] towards digital, the exhibition industry is vital at same time,” said Russell.

“We need other opportunities to get through, those little nuances you just can’t get with digital, the tactile stuff, like turning the button on an appliance,” he added, stating that his company spends up to 30% of its total marketing budget in the exhibition space.