As Pepsi was exploding in popularity during the 1970s, they bid to enter the Chinese market with their standard “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation†slogan. However, in the rag-tag translation in Chinese – “Pepsi brings your relatives back from the dead.†didn’t bode well with Chinese customers.
Popular whiskey brand Canadian Mist botched the entry in German markets because “Mist†in German means “manure.†With this real-life example in mind let’s point out the first and the most important challenge in marketing translation:
Transcreation Trumps Translation
Transcreation is a marketing terminology – it means creative translation of marketing materials such that the brand can effortlessly diffuse in a new culture. Transcreation requires a great amount of effort from the side of the translators, the company, and knowledge of the specific market. Here is a tremendous example:
When speaking in Argentine Spanish, people tend to pronounce “Pecsi” instead of Pepsi. Pepsi, being a big brand as they are, went ahead and started spelling Pepsi as Pecsi – exclusive to Argentina. This unconventional move leads to an increase in sales and revenues.
The Challenge of Localization
Of the more than 4 billion daily users of the internet, only 25 percent are English speakers. More than 50% of all Google searches are in a language other than English. Another statistic that should be of concern – The Common Sense Advisory (CSA) studied the effect of localization on sales of products in a report called ‘Cant’ Read, Won’t Buy’. It was found that 85% of all consumers will not purchase if the information is not readily accessible in their native language. Besides, the study added, more valuable the item more time people spend on reading about the product – further adding towards the case for localization.
Transcreation and localization can have many facets including but not limited to – Humor, ironies, rituals, symbols, images, iconography, visuals, Voiceovers, subtitles, and captions, Naming culture, foods, wear, Cultural values and beliefs, Date and time formatting, Measurements and references, Product description and reviews
Solution – Market Translation Services
A fail-safe for marketing translation woes is to employ digital Marketing Translation Services. Native translators are the best in providing context to translations. And when the translation is a global ordeal Professional Translation Services for Marketing Campaigns are highly scalable have thousands of knowledgeable translators to call on for a specific project. The translation services for marketing Agency also offer a dedicated project manager who monitors the whole project. The project manager confirms that information is propagated fully to the translation team employed on specific content.
