Now, more than ever, companies are going global. From humble origins, you can build your business into a world-wide phenomenon. While this is an exciting endeavour, moving your company overseas will mean encountering language barriers. This is where our translation services come in. Effective translation ensures your brand identity is understood in each individual country. But, when it comes to creative, engaging campaigns, sometimes simple translation is just not enough. In these cases, you need transcreation. You might have heard the word – but what does it really mean? Translation v. Transcreation Simply put, translation is the act of converting words from one language to another. Translation is perfect for straightforward copy that can move seamlessly from one language to another. If you’ve got a project that has broader scope, or contains some more creative elements, you will most likely need transcreation over translation alone. Transcreation can help every element of your campaign to be effective when it’s moved from one country to another. For instance, 3 instances where you should use transcreation Here are three instances where transcreation is most appropriate: You need to use industry specific terms If you’re in a jargon heavy industry – think IT – you might need to take extra care when moving things overseas. In some cases, there aren’t always exact words in every language to fit every term. So, a straightforward case of translation won’t always work. You have a culturally specific campaign A lot of companies use culture references, colloquialisms, and even humour to appeal to audiences. The issue is, what people connect to isn’t the same around the world. Jokes won’t always translate with the same humour, and cultural references may be lost. Take, for instance, a recent line of adverts by Nationwide. In the simple adverts, people from across the UK re-cite poems about their experiences. The poems are very specific to the UK, and to work in any other country would require a whole overhaul. You want to target a certain demographic Let’s take, for instance, the younger generations. This group is more likely to use slang terms and connect with memes, but slang terms and memes are not always universal. In these cases, it’s important to work around and find the solution that makes the most sense in the desired language. Find out more about how Language Insight can help you with all your transcreation needs here.
