Job of the Month Page 23 - The PR Report

Considering Google’s recent on‐and‐off relationship with China, Noble surprisingly drew no comparison between freedom of
information and the search giant’s recent withdrawal and re‐entry into the Chinese market. Noble instead focused on
community engagement and the deregulation of information.
“Web 2.0 is about dialogue, about collaboration, about connecting people. An amazing fact I just learned is that one in six
minutes people spend online is on social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others… the next generation of citizens are
living their lives online,” Noble said.
“Online communities help address the amazing torrents of information that are overloading us and help us identify the most
useful parts of all that information out there by allowing us to tap into the connections that can add the most value… we tap
into people with world renowned knowledge and people with localised knowledge to allow us to solve problems in new
ways that we never thought possible,” Noble continued.
In the government sector, like in many traditional PR practise groups, information has always been the most widely traded
commodity. Equally, the control and strategic dissemination of information has also been a primary tactic for practitioners.
However, the shift towards a participatory society is proving these core values outdated.
“Information is becoming a pervasive and free resource that’s driving much of the growth in digital economies, but too much
publicly funded non‐confidential information is held up, blocked behind government firewalls or incumbent with onerous
copyright restrictions, and therefore of little use. I want to see this public information available to all. Information is much
more powerful when it is set free. It’s going to create great social benefits and increase the potential for innovative new
products and services.”
By tapping into the collective intelligence, Google has been able to bring great social benefits to the global community
through products such as Google Maps and Google Transit. For example, Google has been involved with helping to make
emergency service information publically available during the 2009 Victorian bushfires. More recently Google has also
worked with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to map data in and around one of Australia’s greatest natural
beauties.
In an environment where all information is freely shared, Google believes that individuals, networks, organisations and
governments will all be judged against their own merits in a flatter democracy.
ZING win Bavarian Hospitality Group account
BHG (Bavarian Hospitality Group (BHG)) has appointed Zing as its
retained PR agency.
Zing has been charged with handling the publicity across the BHG
portfolio of beers, bars and pubs and restaurants that includes The
Rocks venues, The Argyle and Löwenbräu Keller, along with the
Bavarian Bier Café properties.
Zing’s extensive PR and events experience with alcohol clients such as
Bacardi Lion and Lion Nathan, and entertainment projects including
SYD.NYE09 and Nomad Two Worlds, perfectly align their experience
with the needs of BHG.
Sandi Szangolies, Marketing Director BHG said of the new partnership: “We are excited to be working with the team at Zing
who have proven themselves to not only be creative, but understand the needs of our business and deliver solid, strategic
recommendations.” With a raft of BHG projects already in the pipeline including the annual Oktoberfest and a rapidly
expanding portfolio of premium venues, Zing is excited to grow with the BHG business.
ZING PR photo : l to r: Jocelyne Simpson, Kate Loxton, Broc Munro and Kate Whitehair