Ahead of the launch of Office 2007, Microsoft Australia has wangled local vernacular into the Office 2007 dictionary. No more squiggly red underlining when Aussies type in the word Bogaroo.
I like this idea. Yes, its obviously a PR tactic but its harmless enough.
Why do I like it?
1. It may not be a huge technical ask to add a few words to a dictionary but I'm certain it took the sort of forward planning and liason with product teams 'at Corp.' that is usually impossible for PR functions to achieve in any big organization ahead of major launches. Which may sound strange but is true in my experience.
2. In a small and approachable way, it makes a huge global product launch slightly more local to this particular national marketplace. Anyone working in tech PR for big and mostly US-HQed companies knows this is a perpetual challenge.
Australia's chosen words are listed in this coverage on the Sydney Morning Herald. I could only translate about half with any level of confidence, any help on the meaning of 'ridgy didge' or 'dinky-di' gratefully received. Whereas the Inquirer coverage is clearly more advanced in its use of Aussie slang.
(and yes, Microsoft is a customer - but not in Australia and not for this part of the empire)
Tags: PR, Microsoft, Office 2007, Sydney Morning Herald, The Inquirer