While translation undoubtedly plays a crucial role in breaking global language barriers, there’s an additional creative service we recommend to elevate your messaging and ensure it resonates with audiences worldwide.
Transcreation.
Firstly, what is transcreation?
As you might guess from the name, transcreation combines two key concepts: translation and creation.
It’s the process of creatively adapting and transforming a message to ensure it retains its impact, tone and meaning when moving from one language and culture to another.
Unlike perhaps a direct translation, which focuses on converting words from one language to another, transcreation involves rethinking the entire message, ensuring it resonates emotionally with the target audience.
The concept of transcreation emphasises the translator's independent creative role.
The power of transcreation
Transcreation, much like localisation, considers who the target audience is, adapting the message to fit their expectations, culture, and preferences.
For example, simply translating a slogan like Nike's iconic "Just Do It" into German as "Mach’s einfach" or Spanish as "Simplemente hazlo" doesn’t have the same emotional impact.
Transcreation requires a deep understanding of both language and culture.
A marketing-minded linguist will adapt the tone, style and even the medium of communication to ensure the message retains its emotional impact.
In fact, transcreation often goes beyond simply translating words. It might involve altering the tone, the imagery, or even the structure of the message to ensure it feels authentic and engaging to local audiences.
Why transcreation is a game-changer for your brand
While translation requires a high level of empathy and expertise, it tends to focus on literal accuracy. This is at least true for the more basic levels of translation.
Transcreation, on the other hand, allows the translator’s creativity to shine. It’s about adapting the message to maximise its effectiveness in the target culture, enabling your brand to forge deeper, more personal connections with local audiences.
As you expand into new markets or continue to build your global presence, transcreation is a service you cannot afford to overlook.
It ensures that your brand speaks authentically to each audience, maintaining a consistent tone while adapting to the cultural sensibilities of each country.
If you’re looking to make the most of your global marketing strategy and connect with audiences in a meaningful way, transcreation is truly the way forward.
Unlocking budgets for localisation and transcreation
In recent years, AI-driven translation has significantly reduced the costs associated with translating content.
While this technology offers a cost-effective solution for many businesses, it also presents an opportunity to reallocate budgets to more strategic services like localisation and transcreation.
While AI can handle the heavy lifting of basic translations, it lacks the cultural sensitivity required to truly connect with local audiences. This is where localisation and transcreation come in.
With more budget freed up by AI-powered translation, companies can invest in customising their messaging to ensure it resonates with specific cultural contexts, regional preferences and local sensitivities.
With the rise of cost-effective AI in translation, businesses now have the opportunity to allocate their budgets more strategically. By investing in transcreation, localisation, and perhaps even personalisation, brands can elevate their global messaging.
A real-world example of why transcreation matters
The fast-food chain KFC offers a classic example of how failing to invest in transcreation can lead to embarrassing results.
When they introduced their famous ‘Finger-lickin’ good’ slogan in China, the literal translation ended up being something much less appetising – ‘Eat your fingers off’. Clearly, this didn’t have the intended effect.
In contrast, McDonald’s slogan "I’m Lovin’ It" translates well in most European languages.
However, in China, the word ‘love’ is too strong to be used casually in advertising, so McDonald’s adapted its slogan to something closer to "I just like it", which resonates more effectively with the Chinese audience.
While it might seem underwhelming to English speakers, in China, it’s a perfect fit
If you’re interested in exploring transcreation or translation services for your business, we’d love to help.
Contact us for a free consultation and discover how we can help you speak to your global audience effectively and authentically.
