Translation services have become a vital asset for all sectors in today’s global markets. The translation industry can help companies develop their international brand in new locations, market their products or services overseas, and assist with the production of packaging or design concepts.
However, in most instances, translation alone is not enough to convey a brand message accurately, or to target a specific audience.
In this case, translation should be used alongside localization.
Localization, involves a far more complex task than merely translating words from one language to another. It involves variances in dialects, beliefs, customs, and cultures to enable a translation that gives a thorough and accurate portrayal of the original message, but that also applies specifically to the target audience and their context.
Marketing translations require a high degree of accuracy, detailed audience knowledge, and a precise cultural awareness which can only be gained through professional localization.
If you are considering translating your marketing concepts for a foreign audience, the following tips will ensure you are equipped with all the essential knowledge you’ll need to make an informed choice regarding your chosen translation and localization service provider.
Cultural Awareness and Localization for Marketing
As already mentioned, localization is a far more involved process than translation, and will give you an end product that is tailored to your needs, and your audience’s setting.
Successful marketing, be it either a product or a service, requires cultural awareness to ensure that you can target your campaign to the correct audience and in a way that they can appreciate and understand. It is no use spending money on translating your marketing campaign into ‘Received Pronunciation’ (also known as Queen’s English) if you are targeting a predominantly Scottish audience.
In this case, you should use localization services to tailor your campaign for a regional dialect, giving you more opportunity to connect with your audience, and increase your chance of success.
The whole focus of marketing is to promote a product (or service), so if your advertising material causes offence, is incorrectly translated, or is inappropriately humorous, then you are unlikely to get your original message across or increase opportunities for sales.
Localization Considerations
You should be aware of the following potential cultural pitfalls before creating marketing campaigns:
• Language and dialect – in many countries there are huge variances in regional dialects. Target your campaigns to specific areas which can take account of differences from one region to another
• Religion – there are huge religious factors that should be considered before creating any new marketing campaign, especially if you are unfamiliar with cultural or religious norms. For instance, if you are an English company looking to branch out into the Middle East, you should consider any religious issues that your marketing campaigns might cause. The Middle East is a predominantly Muslim country and as such, has very different views on what is acceptable in the realms of sexual diversity, clothing, and physical contact.
• Colour – this may sound very superficial but the colours used in marketing campaigns can make or break a promotion. The variances from one culture to another can be extreme, for instance, red is a colour associated with happiness in China, yet in the UK can signify danger. Likewise, green is a colour often linked to luck, health, fertility and nature, however, in Indonesia it is a forbidden colour, and in South American countries is associated with death.
• Images – an awareness of ambiguous, immoral, or vulgar implications created by certain images should be considered in marketing. The vast differences in what is considered appropriate for any audience must be thoroughly understood. Localization will take account of these variations and tailor campaigns to suit each audience.
• Family – while most cultures around the world consider family important, there are still some differences in the value placed upon it. For example, in India ‘family’ is often a large, extended concept which includes both ‘blood’ relatives and those related by marriage. Conversely, Western cultures often are smaller, and may include same-sex marriages.
• Face – could also be defined as dignity or respect, and plays a significant role in many Asian regions. A humorous marketing campaign which included someone being ‘made a fool of’ in the US, would not come across well in China due to the loss of ‘face’.
• Gender – campaigns which show women working, driving, dominating and so on, might be considered insensitive and inappropriate in some countries in which a patriarchal system still governs life, home and the workplace. For instance, a TV advert in the UK might show men and women chatting in a group in a café, but the same advert translated for a Saudi Arabian audience would need to incorporate a gender segregation wall, with women on one side and men on the other.
The list is fairly inexhaustible when considering cultural difference, and the need for an accurate, and respectful, marketing campaign. Each culture is unique and enjoys different societal structures which have evolved over hundreds of years.
International marketing should always be considerate of these differences, and should be tailored to suit each audience, and target market. Professional localization services offer far more than the basic word conversion of a plain translation, and can give assurance that money has been well spent in avoiding any blunders or causing offence.
