Marketing isn’t simply about promoting your product. It’s a series of strategies, plans, and creative output that helps ensure your brand is front and center of a customer’s mind.

Much like other industries, marketing has its own jargon to navigate and nuances to consider. From different platforms and audience requirements to your brand’s unique style and tone, there’s a lengthy checklist of necessities to refine - and that’s all before we even start translating.

So what happens if you do want to take your business into another location? Launching a product or service, building a presence, and creating material that works on a regional level can feel pretty overwhelming. Especially as a key consideration of marketing is to ensure your brand and creativity remain intact.

But don’t worry, you’re not alone. As a Language Services Provider (LSP), we’ve seen all of these challenges before and have helped clients across the world localize into new markets. All it takes is a little understanding of the top considerations needed when translating marketing content.

By the end of this article you’ll be clear and confident on these requirements, and ready to launch into a new territory.

Top 5 Translation Strategies for Effective Marketing

1. Ensure Your LSP Knows the Marketing World Inside Out

Every industry is stuffed full of jargon and acronyms. From working with ‘influencers, ambassadors, and affiliates’ to gathering ‘user-generated content’, or creating ‘out-of-home’ campaigns’, the world of marketing is no different and has a language all of its own. And it pays to have your LSP in the know.

An LSP that contextually understands the marketing industry can help elevate content from simple (and often meaningless) word-for-word translation, to something that’s relevant and genuinely engaging.

2. Use Localization to Really Hit the Creative Sweet Spot

Localization is somewhat of a secret sauce when it comes to translation, particularly across marketing materials as it’s a chance to get creative by acknowledging a location’s community, customs, and culture. But what exactly is localization?

It’s ensuring that your content and communications are able to effectively engage with a new audience. And it’s all in the details.

Say your business is moving into India. Have you thought about the differences you may encounter across particular regions? Not only are official languages - like Bengali or Gujarati - a key consideration, but it pays to think about things like a community’s religion, lifestyle, reading comprehension, and average age, for example.

3. Consider All of Your Media

Whether your marketing content is a TikTok advert or billboard by the side of the road, chances are it consists of several elements, not just text. From still imagery to audio and video, everything needs to be considered when it comes to translation.

Some considerations include:

• How does your text read - is it right-to-left like Hebrew or top-to-bottom like Japanese?
• Are your chosen images appropriate, for example are the female models dressed modestly for Muslim regions?
• Will you need to create video subtitles or re-record voiceovers?

4. Don’t Just Translate… Transcreate

If you choose to translate your brand’s slogan word-for-word - or as closely as possibly to the equivalent - you could find yourself in the same trouble that McDonald’s did when translating ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ into Chinese. The fast food giant decided to translate instead of transcreate resulting in the slogan being ‘But I just like it’. Obviously not quite as impactful as the original.

What we’re trying to say is that transcreation is essential for retaining meaning within another location and culture, as it focuses on the intended context rather than the actual messaging. This is particularly important for marketing, where one-liners and campaigns are usually meticulously crafted to capture attention and appeal to emotions.

Transcreation acknowledges a local culture's own values, idioms, and audience appeal to ensure a brand’s sentiment remains the same, even if the literal words may be a little different.

5. Keep Faithful to Your Brand

There are many things that make a recognizable brand, with a logo and color palette being two of the most obvious. Think about Nike’s renowned tick or McDonald’s playful red and yellow. However, your brand’s tone of voice is extremely important for recognition too, and any translation should adhere to how you write and speak as a business.

Take Uber’s clear, considerate and bold tone of voice, Apple’s minimalist and sleek approach, or Monzo’s positive, helpful and often fun way of writing. No matter the country or language, those same characteristics shine through their marketing content. And yours should too.

Think about compiling a tone of voice style guide or brand glossary that details particular characteristics or words that your brand uses. This means you can ensure that any LSP will translate your marketing content in a way that’s faithful to your business.

Now that you’re thinking about your brand’s style, as well as all the media you use within marketing material, and the importance of localization, you’re in a great position to get started.

Get a Quote for Your Translation Project

If you’ve got a marketing translation project that you need expert help with, we’d love to talk. We’ll make sure your brand’s style stays intact and messages aren’t lost, no matter the language or country.

Consultations are free and there’s no obligation. Plus, you’re in safe hands. We’re ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 compliant, have over twenty years of professional translation experience, and have earned the trust of organizations across the world.