Solving the Transcreation Equation

Knowing when to go beyond translation can benefit your brand and your bottom line.

Bad translations of product names, slogans, and branding seem like hilarious corporate blunders that you would never make. Then your company announces an expansion into a foreign language market and you suddenly realize… everything from your company logo to its mission statement needs to be reviewed. Your tag line that works as a clever pun in one language could turn out to be a tactless insult in another. It’s time to consider transcreation.

Considering Culture

According to LAT Vice-President and Creative Lead Julie Wong-Gravend, transcreation finds the common ground where creating and translating meet.

“It goes beyond the literal meaning of words and requires a whole new creative process, especially when wordplays and puns are involved. Even if it’s not always possible pun for pun, the goal is to get the same overall impact or inspire similar feelings in the target audience. To do so, transcreators must adapt the content while taking into account all the cultural elements and subtleties so that the final result can be as natural and as seamless as possible. When transcreating, we need to remember that people come with different sets of cultural and linguistic baggage. What works in one culture might not work in another. So, we need to stay true to the brand message while juggling those other elements”.

Bottom Line Benefits

Transcreation should be considered for any multilingual advertising or marketing effort. Moving beyond just the words that are used and adapting the content as needed; reviewing logos, colour palettes, visuals, and product slogans delivers a more natural feel, so that the product or service presents as part of the fabric of the culture, rather than an outside influence. As LAT Chief Marketing Officer Jonathan Levitt explains, it’s a decision that benefits the bottom line by respecting the customer.

“When we examine the benefits of transcreation, we see many examples where a thoughtful, creative approach outperforms straight translations. People know when you are ‘speaking their language’ and respond positively to the recognition and sense of belonging that brings.”

Should your next translation request be in fact a transcreation project? Translation is always the appropriate starting point when you wish to faithfully reproduce a document in a different language. Localization (to be covered in an upcoming post) goes a little deeper. Transcreation however, is a more creative process, where the transcreator seeks to connect with the target audience and the original wording is the framework for that effort. By conveying nuance, humour, and cultural intangibles in a way regular translations can’t, transcreation unlocks the ability to communicate your message, motivate your audience, and measure the results.

Since many years now, the Creative Team at LAT Multilingual has been working with major brands on their transcreation projects to capture the spirit of their original markets and open new ones at the same time. We invite you to get in touch so we can learn more about your needs and help you find the best solutions.