Lan­guage trans­la­tion can be com­pli­cated and mis­takes are com­mon. A direct trans­la­tion can turn a strong adver­tis­ing mes­sage into some­thing funny, offen­sive or even plain non­sense.  Search for “mar­ket­ing trans­la­tion mis­takes” on any search engine and you will find plenty of examples.

The more prac­ti­cal ques­tion to ask though: how can you rec­og­nize a good trans­la­tion and avoid mis­com­mu­ni­ca­tion?  There is no magic for­mula, but here are the main points to consider.

Trans­late the mes­sage, not just the words

A good trans­la­tor will always focus on the mes­sage when trans­lat­ing mar­ket­ing or adver­tis­ing con­tent. Unlike a legal or tech­ni­cal trans­la­tion, in mar­ket­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions it is crit­i­cal to make the mes­sage res­onate with the intended audi­ence.  One has to go beyond a lit­eral trans­la­tion of words. Think of it this way; there is a rea­son why copy­writ­ers are hired.  They add value by mak­ing a mes­sage inter­est­ing, impact­ful and per­sua­sive — using as few words as pos­si­ble. When trans­lat­ing such cre­ative con­tent into another lan­guage, it really deserves the same atten­tion in order to be as effec­tive as the original.

Under­stand cul­tural nuances

Under­stand­ing the cul­ture of your audi­ence is key when trans­lat­ing adver­tis­ing con­tent. Words may be trans­lated cor­rectly but they can have a dou­ble mean­ing or evoke a com­pletely dif­fer­ent reac­tion.  Take Orange for exam­ple, a lead­ing telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions provider that launched a cam­paign in Ire­land with the line “The future is bright, the future is Orange”.   If the writer had lived in Ire­land, he or she would know that the term “Orange” is also a ref­er­ence to Orange Order, a Protes­tant fra­ter­nal orga­ni­za­tion. The term is often asso­ci­ated with union­ism, sec­tar­ian and even suprema­cist.  Not exactly the val­ues that the Orange brand wanted to convey.

Match tone & style to your brand

Even if you don’t have a for­mal­ized brand posi­tion­ing, your mar­ket­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions will have a cer­tain style and tone that is inher­ent to your brand.  It’s like a per­sona with char­ac­ter­is­tics that your audi­ence will rec­og­nize.  When mar­ket­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions are trans­lated into a dif­fer­ent lan­guage, it is impor­tant to con­tinue the same tone and writ­ing style.  A good writer will ask the right ques­tions. Is your brand estab­lished and author­i­ta­tive or new and dis­rup­tive?   Does it rely on its her­itage or inno­va­tion? Is it for­mal or infor­mal in its cus­tomer com­mu­ni­ca­tions?  Whether it’s a web­site, a brochure or an ad, it is impor­tant to use the same brand voice.  The more con­sis­tent you are, the more rec­og­niz­able you will be.

Mind the pic­tures; they’re worth a 1000 words

As in all com­mu­ni­ca­tions, what you see res­onates more (& faster) than what you read.  It’s how the mind works. Words and design col­lec­tively con­vey the mes­sage.  You have to con­sider both when trans­lat­ing adver­tis­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions.  Does your imagery res­onate with the for­eign audi­ence?  Do the col­ors and sym­bols have a dif­fer­ent mean­ing?  These are the things to look out for. Check with some­one who is close to the cul­ture of your tar­get audi­ence.  Often a small and sim­ple cor­rec­tion can make a big difference.

© 2012 Branded Trans­la­tions.
Branded Trans­la­tions is a spe­cial­ized lan­guage ser­vices agency. We help orga­ni­za­tions reach mul­ti­cul­tural and inter­na­tional audi­ences through qual­ity trans­la­tion and tran­scre­ation of mar­ket­ing and adver­tis­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions.  For more infor­ma­tion, visit BrandedTranslations.com.