Ensure that brand creativity is correctly communicated across cultures: Arrow Translation’s transcreation services

Why are Apple fans so loyal? Why does Coca-Cola have such a unique appeal around the world? Why do some people have such deep feelings for a can of beans?

Advertising is known as the "art of persuasion". Like other art forms, advertising requires not only creativity but also subtle expression. When a brand enters a new market, subtle expression can easily be lost. For example, the slogan "Unlimited vitality, enjoy Coca-Cola" launched by an international beverage brand in China once caused misunderstanding due to improper translation. The original text was intended to convey "vitality and passion", but because the word "unlimited" may be understood as "eternal" in some cultures, it made the audience associate unrealistic promises and caused confusion. Obviously, this is not the message the brand wants to convey.

What is transcreation? When is it necessary?

This example clearly demonstrates the difference between translation and transcreation, and the risks of confusing the two. The purpose of translation is to accurately convey the meaning of the original text, while transcreation combines creative thinking with writing skills to ensure that the core ideas and creativity of the brand can adapt to different cultural backgrounds. Transcreation is not just a matter of converting language, it also requires a deep understanding of the essence of the message and the flexibility to deal with cultural differences. Transcreators must not only be proficient in language, but also have rich experience in branding and advertising marketing, and be able to keenly grasp cultural details.

When is transcreation necessary?

Transcreation is mainly used in the fields of marketing and advertising, especially when brands want to keep the core of the message while being able to touch audiences from different cultural backgrounds. The following are some typical scenarios for transcreation needs:

1. When you need to establish an emotional connection 
   If the content you are translating is just a brochure, user manual or terms and conditions, transcreation is not necessary. But when your goal is to create an advertisement that can trigger emotional resonance, transcreation is obviously more important than simple translation. Transcreation needs to go beyond the conversion of language and understand the emotional response of different cultures in order to accurately convey emotional resonance.
2. When you need humor 
   Why can Charlie Chaplin's works transcend language barriers and make audiences around the world laugh? Because he does not rely on language. Humor is a difficult point in translation. If you want to make the audience laugh, creative translation is undoubtedly the best choice.
3. When you need to translate a brand name or slogan 
   Brand names, slogans and slogans are often symbolic and difficult to convey accurately in different languages and cultures. For example, when a brand entered the Chinese market, its slogan "Let your dreams fly" was mistranslated as "Let your homeland fly", which led to a deviation in the message. The original intention was to encourage people to pursue their dreams, but the word "homeland" may trigger unnecessary emotional associations in some regions, affecting the brand positioning. In order to ensure accurate message delivery, creative translation is particularly important.

Arrow Translations’ Transcreation Services

Arrow Translations provides transcreation services to many of the world’s leading brands. As an international company, we are able to help brands effectively communicate their ideas around the world and overcome cross-cultural communication challenges. Our transcreation process includes the following three key stages:

1. The briefing 
   phase is the heart of the transcreation process. We need to gain a deep understanding of the languages and cultures involved, while ensuring that the team has a full understanding of the brand’s creative and project goals. Only when we have a full grasp of the core meaning of the project can we ensure that the creative is seamlessly integrated into the target culture.
2. Translation 
   provides highly qualified creative experts around the world. Our creative team is not only proficient in languages, but also has extensive experience in advertising and marketing to ensure that creativity is effectively communicated in different cultures. Creative translation not only focuses on language conversion, but also considers elements such as visual design and images to ensure that every detail of the creativity fits the local culture.
3. Testing and 
   FeedbackTranscreation is a continuous optimization process. We usually provide multiple versions with back translation to help clients choose the version that best matches the brand tone and creativity. Through back translation, we can ensure that the translated content is faithful to the original text and can effectively convey the intended brand message. Back translation is not just a re-translation of the translated text, it can also help us discover subtle differences or misunderstandings that may have occurred during the translation process, ensuring that the final content meets the brand's emotions and cultural requirements of the target market.

The significance and function of back translation

Back translation is an important part of the transcreation process, which aims to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the message by translating the text from the target language back into the source language. This not only helps us identify potential problems in the translation, but also ensures that the translated content is highly consistent with the original idea.

For example, when translating an advertising slogan, back translation can help ensure that the sentiment and tone of the ad are conveyed appropriately in the target language. If the back translation reveals that certain wording or sentiment is not relevant enough for the target market, the transcreation team will adjust the translation based on the feedback to ensure that the brand message is conveyed accurately and naturally to the target audience.

Back translation can also help establish an effective communication and feedback mechanism between brands and translation teams, ensuring that the creative translation service is continuously optimized and maximized to adapt to the cultural and language characteristics of the target market.

Summarize

Transcreation is not only about language conversion, but also a process of cultural adaptation and creative reconstruction. By combining language skills, creative thinking and cultural sensitivity, transcreation can ensure the successful communication of brands in the global market. If you need to ensure that brand creativity can be effectively communicated globally, welcome to cooperate with Arrow Translation. We not only provide accurate language translation services, but also provide you with transcreation services to help you overcome cultural barriers and achieve brand success in the international market.

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