According to Trevor Foley, CEO of the UKs Events Industry Alliance, digital media and face-to-face marketing provide the perfect mix for brands to focus their media activity.

Addressing senior exhibition executives at their annual EEAA Leaders Forum, he said media spend is shifting from traditional print and broadcast media. In the UK, revenue from events is already overtaking media spend generated by magazine publishing, and in 2006 the US reported that event revenues had surpassed print revenues, he said.

Foley said that events are winning the hearts and minds of both b2b and b2c consumers because they are increasingly delivering relevant content.

Australian exhibition organisers are increasingly changing the nature of their events to offer more hands-on, interactive opportunities for visitors with most recognising that the way of future is to offer fun, engaging, educational experiences. For those kinds of experience, digital media and face-to-face marketing allow interaction along with the personal touch, the ideal mix.