In this series, we’re drawing back the curtain, giving you a peek at the work that goes into successful transcreation.
What is transcreation?
We think of transcreation as ‘translation with imagination’. It involves the creative translation of a piece of text with regional context, nuance, and culture at its heart. Done well, transcreation will establish your brand as trusted, familiar and authentic with customers all over the world.
Transcreation in action: A holiday sale
The festive season always throws up interesting challenges for us. At this time of year marketing content in particular is packed full of puns and word play which don’t always resonate with international audiences.
In addition, promos and campaigns are built around Dec 25 as THE key date, while in fact a whole host of dates and celebrations throughout this period hold more significance for different people around the world.
In the example below our Dutch translator explains how they approached the naming of a promotional campaign, designed to encourage customers in the Netherlands to shop for Christmas gifts early.
Content type: Campaign branding
Goal: Conversion
Languages: en_EN to nl_NL
Source copy: Holiday Prep Sale
Chosen transcreation: Wees-er-vroeg-bij-sale
Back translation: Sort It Early sale
Notes
“While this doesn’t mention ‘holiday’ specifically, this really captures the spirit and messaging behind this particular promotion. In truth, ‘feestdagen’ (festive days) really only refers to Christmas. In Dutch we often talk about ‘the December month’ as a month of festivities, as we also have Sinterklaas at the beginning, but ‘Early December Month Sale’ doesn’t work and ‘Early December Sale’ sounds confusing.”
The goal of transcreation is to craft content that feels as though it was written in a language, not just translated. Our team’s approach means that the thought and care you put into creating a campaign is felt by your customers, wherever they are in the world.
Want to know more about how we can help? Let’s talk!
In this series, we’re drawing back the curtain, giving you a peek at the work that goes into successful transcreation.
What is transcreation?
We think of transcreation as ‘translation with imagination’. It involves the creative translation of a piece of text with regional context, nuance, and culture at its heart. Done well, transcreation will establish your brand as trusted, familiar and authentic with customers all over the world.
Transcreation in action: A holiday sale
The festive season always throws up interesting challenges for us. At this time of year marketing content in particular is packed full of puns and word play which don’t always resonate with international audiences.
In addition, promos and campaigns are built around Dec 25 as THE key date, while in fact a whole host of dates and celebrations throughout this period hold more significance for different people around the world.
In the example below our Dutch translator explains how they approached the naming of a promotional campaign, designed to encourage customers in the Netherlands to shop for Christmas gifts early.
Content type: Campaign branding
Goal: Conversion
Languages: en_EN to nl_NL
Source copy: Holiday Prep Sale
Chosen transcreation: Wees-er-vroeg-bij-sale
Back translation: Sort It Early sale
Notes
“While this doesn’t mention ‘holiday’ specifically, this really captures the spirit and messaging behind this particular promotion. In truth, ‘feestdagen’ (festive days) really only refers to Christmas. In Dutch we often talk about ‘the December month’ as a month of festivities, as we also have Sinterklaas at the beginning, but ‘Early December Month Sale’ doesn’t work and ‘Early December Sale’ sounds confusing.”
The goal of transcreation is to craft content that feels as though it was written in a language, not just translated. Our team’s approach means that the thought and care you put into creating a campaign is felt by your customers, wherever they are in the world.
Want to know more about how we can help? Let’s talk!
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