For international campaigns, a conventional translation of marketing texts is often not enough. Rather, the creative re-creation of texts is needed to ensure that the global brand is received locally.
Placed between translation and content generation, the aim of transcreation is to deliver the source language message as effectively as if it had been written in the target language, eliciting the same intellectual and emotional response in the target market. Creativity is only limited by the need to maintain the brand tone of voice. Transcreation can therefore be positioned between translation and content generation; it can produce bold transformations, but always with the aim of conveying the original brand message.
Transcreation is thus somewhere between translation and creative content generation. The language used should be natural and attractive to local market consumers, appropriate to appeal to the target audience, but also consistent with the brand.
Before starting work, we examine reference materials: the corporate identity, previous campaigns and visuals for the current campaign. We need to understand our client's creative intent and the role of the campaign in the life of the company.
Transcreation is not a mathematical operation with one single correct answer. From our first text proposals, we present several significantly different versions generated by synonyms, multiple meanings, idioms, puns. We avoid alternatives that are not part of the task or that would not work in practice, e.g. because they require too much attention or prior knowledge.
The target language text is then translated directly back into the source language. The purpose of this annotated retranslation is to reflect the nuances and all the connotations in the target language. This is necessary for the client who does not know the target language/culture to be able to check the transcreation. A rationale is also included to provide insight into how solutions to the challenges of the source material work. The justification, which is in formal language and linguistically demanding, includes the following:
If something could offend the sensitivity of the local culture, contravene existing legislation or be subject to negative repercussions, we will suggest alternative solutions.
All solutions offered should sound natural.
The final polishing of the adaptation are editing and proofreading. Editing is the process of improving the flow and stylistic quality of the text: we filter out unwanted ambiguities, replace omitted words, and aim for a consistent style. Proofreading is the final review of the edited adaptation. The original material is not checked here, only the smoothness and ease of reading of the finished text. We format the text typographically.
We are also available to answer any questions our clients may have after the work has been submitted.
From business cards to billboards, we provide a one-stop solution for the translation of all your printed materials.
Are the texts in InDesign or Photoshop? No problem, we translate and edit the source files with care for formatting.
Or maybe the editable files are no longer available, just ready-made images and PDFs? Our DTP specialist can even recreate the editable file from scratch, including both the source language and target language texts, and export the material in any format or size you want.