Ads are everywhere, and marketing isn’t just about ads; it’s whitepapers, blog posts, social media, video presentations, and even package design. So, when it comes to marketing translation, you’ll find it everywhere, too. But what are the benefits of marketing translation, and what is marketing translation in the first place? This comprehensive guide will answer these questions and provide some marketing translation examples along the way. Let’s get into it:
What is Marketing Translation?
To start, let’s get a clear picture of marketing translation and what it entails. Generally, marketing covers a massive breadth of media, all designed to boost a company’s reach and improve sales. Marketing materials include advertisements, websites, physical packaging, events, whitepapers, and webinars, so by association, marketing translation involves the translation and localization of these materials.
What are Advertisements in Marketing?
In marketing, advertisements play a significant role in boosting brand awareness, connecting with audiences, and boosting sales. Typically, you’ll find marketing translations used in online and offline international ad campaigns.
What are the 4 Types of Translation?
Although marketing translation counts as a type of translation, it’s not necessarily one of the four types. In fact, some marketing translation projects might overlap with the four types of translation.
So, what are the four most common types of translation within the translation market?
- Creative Translation is the process most people are familiar with since it involves translating creative works like books, movies, and television shows. Advertisements will also fall into this category.
- Technical Translation takes a different approach from creative translation, where accuracy is vital. Training videos, safety manuals, and instruction sheets are all technical documents that require accurate translations with field-specific jargon. A whitepaper you show to potential clients or investors would need a technical translation.
- Scientific Translation is much like technical translation but focuses on the more research-oriented side. Scientific documents, studies, and academic papers would all require scientific translation. Science-based companies may publish their studies in various languages with the help of scientific translation.
- Business or Corporate Translation. This type of translation handles administrative business matters and may include translating internal communications or confidential files. Internal marketing communications like emails would require corporate translation.
The 3 Types of Translation
In addition to the four main types of translation, we can also categorize translation projects by the complexity of the translation required:
- Literal Translation is used when someone needs to translate the source material word-for-word.
- Interpretative Translations are the next level of complexity above literal translations, and translators are given some creativity when providing cultural context or altering grammatical structure.
- Free Translation allows translators the most creativity when working on a project and is often used when translating creative works. Advertisements will likely require free translation instead of literal or interpretative translation services.
What is an Example of Translation?
So, what is an example of translation? After all, if it’s everywhere, we have to encounter it in some form, right?
Lots of people’s first experiences with translation come from sharing cultures. If you’ve ever seen a Studio Ghibli movie like Spirited Away or eaten at a Chinese restaurant, you’ve already encountered translation at work. Traditional Chinese food names, including ingredients, are translated on your menu, while the script for Spirited Away was translated from Japanese to English.
Why is Translation Important in Marketing?
There are many reasons why translation is important in marketing. For one, it saves time. Let’s say you’re working on an English campaign for your company but would also like to do some advertising in Spanish. Translation services can help you develop a Spanish campaign similar to your English one without creating something entirely new.
What are the Benefits of Marketing Translation?
The main reason translation is essential in marketing, however, is for its benefits. Marketing translation’s benefits can all be boiled down into three main categories:
Reaching a Broader Audience
One of the most apparent benefits of translating your marketing materials is reaching more people.
Are you selling a product? It’s likely that people worldwide have the same problems and needs as your current customers.
Need to boost your website’s SEO? Translating and optimizing your blog for another language’s search trends will help you attract more visitors, rank higher, and boost your web accessibility.
Do you want to share company updates with people worldwide? Creating social media posts in various languages will improve your chances of doing so.
Improving International KPIs and ROI
A boost in company reach also (hopefully) means a boost in sales and engagement. The best way to guarantee that your business succeeds internationally is to understand and resonate with your new target demographic. What is the best way to do so? An effective, thorough translation.
Remain Culturally Sensitive
The final, arguably most significant benefit of translating marketing materials is that your brand remains culturally sensitive to other demographics. Some of the biggest problems with international marketing campaigns stem from poor translations that audiences find offensive, costing the company millions of dollars without return.
Let’s talk about some big companies with failed campaigns due to poor translation:
3 Marketing Translation Mistakes That Caused Big Problems
KFC
At this point, KFC’s failed “eat your fingers off” translation is pretty well-known. The mistranslation of the traditional KFC slogan, “finger-lickin’ good,” cost its Chinese branches millions of dollars in the 1980s. However, their international business runs strong today, probably due to some better translations.
HSBC
The United Kingdom-based bank HSBC experienced a similar blunder in the early aughts when it attempted to translate its current slogan, “assume nothing,” into various languages. Unfortunately, this slogan didn’t translate well, and most countries got “do nothing” instead. This mistranslation ended up costing them around $10 million.
Mercedes-Benz
When Mercedes-Benz launched in China back in 2009, the brand name they used was “Bensi,” which unfortunately translated to “rush to die” (not the best look for a car company). Fortunately, Mercedes-Benz quickly rectified the mistake, and the luxury company now goes by “Ben Chi,” which translates to “dashing speed.”
How to Avoid Marketing Translation Blunders
To avoid major translation fails like the ones we’ve just shown you, let’s talk about some things you can do to ensure your translations are accurate and culturally appropriate:
Do Your Research!
The best way to avoid messing up an ad campaign is to do your research. This goes double for advertising to communities you’ve never touched before or don’t have much experience with! Market research is a crucial part of any business’s localization strategy, and it will help you avoid easily avoidable mistakes and build stronger connections in the long run.
Consult an Expert
Subject matter experts (SMEs) aren’t just for creative writing; you’ll need to consult some real people who speak your campaign’s target language to ensure everything translates properly. Professional translators are experts in ensuring creative translations sound natural and resonate with others who speak their language. Plus, consulting a professional human translator is a great way to avoid the classic AI translation blunders we previously discussed.
Be Open to Feedback
Third, you’ll need to be prepared for feedback. Run a test version of your translated campaign through some people who fit your target demographic; it can save you a lot of money and embarrassment in the long run.
Prepare for Communication
Finally, it’s best to prepare for international communications. If you plan on expanding your business to include the United States and Mexico, you’ll probably encounter some correspondence from potential customers in Spanish. Ensure you give these customers the same level of service an English speaker would so that your brand has a good reputation across the board.
What are Some Challenges of Translating Advertisements?
Of course, when it comes to translating advertisements, there are quite a few challenges you’ll need to watch out for. Professional translation services can certainly help overcome most of these challenges, but there are still some things you, as a manager, can do to ensure your translations are successful
Budgeting
Your budget plays a big role in launching international campaigns. After all, it’s expensive to translate content for every single language and dialect—that’s why it’s so important to research your target demographic properly and the languages they speak. It’s always best to start small and spread out slowly.
Translation Length
While the length of your source material also affects your budget, the length of your advertising copy will affect how well the ad performs. Ad copy should always be short and sweet, and sometimes, a quick phrase in English doesn’t translate as concisely to other languages. Experienced marketing translators will transcreate short-form copy to ensure it doesn’t take up too much space.
Context
Additionally, your marketing campaign’s context is vital in building connections with an international audience. There are three aspects of context that you’ll need to keep in mind:
Linguistic Context
The first kind of context you’ll need to consider is linguistic context. An accurate translation or transcreation immediately addresses one part of the linguistic context, but your target audience’s dialect also plays a role here. Make sure that your translations make sense to people who speak the language and dialect of where you’re marketing. For example, you wouldn’t want to use Puerto Rican Spanish for an ad releasing in Spain!
Cultural Context
Your target audience’s cultural norms will also play a role here. What does their current political climate look like? What about common socioeconomic issues? Even if your ad makes sense linguistically, poor timing or an inappropriate reference can potentially ruin your campaign.
The Source Ad’s Context
Finally, you’ll want to keep your source ad’s context in mind; the context of an advertisement or campaign that works in one location may not work in another. For example, some phrases might not make sense when translated into another language, or your new demographic may not have the same cultural values as your original demographic. Ultimately, a combination of cultural and linguistic sensitivity will translate not just your advertisement but the emotional response your source ad has as well.
Marketing Translations Done Right
Are you ready to launch your next international campaign? Traduality has everything you need to get started: browse vetted marketing translators to collaborate with, create projects, and manage them all in one place. To get started, create your free account today or contact us for more information!
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