Transcreation Services: Market Outside the Box

Have you ever tried translating advertisements, slogans, or marketing campaigns? Did they sound funny or bizarre? Well, that’s because it takes more than mere translation to deliver your marketing messages to different countries. Transcreation services enable you to take your marketing campaigns across borders, delivering the same emotional tone of the original ones.  Transcreation differs from marketing translation in usage and process. Thus, It is necessary to recognize when to use transcreation. It is also vital to know the importance of your project. First, let us take you through what makes transcreation stand out.

The Difference between Translation and Transcreation Services

Transcreation comes from the word translation and the word creation. While a translator needs to be accurate, a trans-creator needs to be crafty with concepts and linguistics. It is not only about words; a trans-creator advises you on the look and feel of your project as well.

Transcreation is considered marketing localization. Your language service provider will study your target market and localize your project, adjusting the cultural reference and tone to be appealing to the audience.

Another difference between translation and transcreation services is payment. Transcreation is more costly than translation. While you pay your translator per word, you should pay per hour or per project for the transcreation services you receive. That is simply because it takes a lot of market research and creativity to come with a new idea to hook your audience while keeping the same emotional effect as the original.

When and Why to Use Transcreation

Transcreation is usually used in marketing and advertisements when you want to convey your message and slogans to another language. However, you also need it to take your marketing campaigns to another country that speaks the same language yet has a different culture. In Arabic for example, while the word “Afya” means health in most countries, it means fire in Morocco. Therefore, if you are wishing someone good health using it in Morocco it can lead to the misunderstanding that you wish this person to be burnt with fire.

Additionally, it is important to trans-create your advertisements as people relate more to their own language, idioms, and localized imagery. Using “more local- language content throughout the customer experience leads to a greater likelihood of purchase,” a 2014 study from Common Sense Advisory explained.

Because different countries have different cultures and different values, you need to hire a transcreation services provider that is well-aware of the target language, culture, and values to avoid any misunderstandings. Using mere translation in marketing can go wrong. For example, when Pepsi translated their slogan ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ to Chinese it indicated this message ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave’.

It is not only about slogans and words, but logo fonts and pictures. Early in 2019, it was reported that Nike had to recall 38,000 pairs of shoes with a logo that angered many Muslims because the design of the logo resembled the word “Allah”, the Arabic word for “God”. The logo was displayed on the underside of the shoe and was only visible when read upside down, yet it was found to be offensive for many customers, who were calling for boycotting Nike products. A simple cultural awareness would have saved Nike from the misunderstanding.

Transcreation Process

Transcreation combines language, culture, and emotional connection. Your transcreation services provider goes through several levels to come up with a creative catchy marketing message. Before starting the transcreation process itself, your service provider will go through a deep in-country review to set the quality criteria for the document. Then a creative trans-creator will take over the process.

The trans-creator then will analyze the concept, idea, and message behind the original version of the project. Following that, using the in-country market research, he/she will provide the transcreation services adapting to the culture of the target country. Then the trans-creator will produce and create a new appropriate message with an appropriate tone, keeping the same concept and emotions.

Choosing transcreation services over translation is vital for the success of your marketing campaigns and going beyond your borders. Transcreation enables you to get to the hearts of your target audience and convince them to be loyal customers. One small mistake caused by mere translation can have you lose your customers or lose your investments. Hence, it is necessary to carefully choose your transcreation services provider.

bayantech provides you with creative well-researched transcreation services to help you take your marketing message across countries.

Contact us to discuss your project.