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Product: marketing materials

Situation

Localizing marketing materials, such as print advertisements and brochures, can be one of the most difficult types of translation projects—both for linguists and clients. By definition, marketing pieces convey concepts rather than words. Thus, the best translation, even when appropriately localized so that the target audience understands what is being said, may not "work" from a marketing perspective. Moreover, many of the ads created in the United States use idiomatic or colloquial expressions that simply do not transfer to other languages.

Company "B", a national advertising agency, regularly requests translation of the advertisements they create for their clients. In one case, they requested translation of an ad for a software company into German. The primary tag line of the ad was the idiomatic phrase, "Looks like trouble", which referred to a picture of a lion surrounded by hyenas. As is often the case with taglines, this phrase made no sense when translated directly into German.

Project Scope

Process

When an advertising campaign is successful, multiple iterations of the same ad will be developed as the message is shaped and adjusted. Providing translations that accurately capture abstract concepts and then transferring them from one ad to the next requires a custom localization process.

In this situation, we were able to offer two very different processes to meet the unique needs of our client. Our first approach was to localize the ad to fit the target market. Thus, our linguist translated "Looks like trouble" as "Smells like fear", which kept the message consistent with the original but made it pertinent to the German market.

In addition to translating the source materials from English to the target language, we also provided a "back translation" of the localized content from the target language into English. This extra step allowed Company "B" to see how the original message was modified for the target market so that the changes could be reflected in subsequent iterations. Once the translation was approved, we formatted the final layout in InDesign. A draft PDF was then prepared and submitted for approval before a final High-Res PDF was created.

The other process that we proposed was to have our linguists actually write ad copy based on parameters established by the client for tone, voice, and style. Under this option, linguists would create multiple versions of an ad along with accompanying back translations. The client would then choose which message best fit their marketing strategy before moving on to final layout and delivery.

Whichever process is used, the overriding objectives must be to protect the client's brand and to convey the intended message. To do this, each component of the ad campaign must be accurately and consistently translated so that the consumer in the target market understands the message, recognizes it as part of a single, on-going campaign, and (ideally) finds it appealing. Utilizing the same highly experienced linguist(s), a comprehensive, up-to-date translation memory, and a formal in-country review by client representatives in the target market is the only way to ensure success.