Advertising Translation
Services
Understanding creative concepts and maintaining targeted messages is of
paramount importance for the growth of international sales and
advertising. Globalization has affected the world of translation. With
the media revolution, the translator is responsible for every aspect of
inter-cultural communication. Wherever the local language is an
influential parameter, the translator acts as the decoder , the
mediator, or the negotiator. Advertising and design, whether written or
audiovisual, has emerged today as one of the areas of activity that make
use of the services of specialized translators.
What is Advertising Translation?
Advertising translation is defined as the means of communication of a
company exporting its products or services. It is regularly seen in
satellite broadcast television channels the same ad campaigns in several
languages. In the same way, various monthly or weekly editions of the
same magazine enables you to see the same translated advertisements
again and again. Translated advertising is the medium to get your
products known to a larger audience. Communication becomes effective
only after the message has been translated and has a positive impact on
the foreign consumer.
Importance of Translations in Advertising
Indeed, the growth of international exchanges requires communication
and thus of translation. Advertising translations open new avenues for
international trade. The medium of advertising is the radio, press,
television, and the Internet. The multinational advertising agencies,
the television networks, and the success achieved by multi-language
publications have led to the growth of this phenomenon. Companies very
well understand that they should adapt their communication to the
consumers they are targeting. Thus translation is a business function,
the objective of which consists of adapting marketing strategies to a
group of market countries. A well-planned advertising campaign can lose
its impact if it suffers from an insensitive translation process.
Advertising often requires more than a word-for-word translation. A
badly translated ad campaign is very harmful, making the brand a
laughing stock. Translation companies provide services in customizing
and translating your advertisements , so that they communicate the
message when presenting your products or services to international
markets.
Effects of Advertising Translation
Three types of effects can be observed in translations of advertising
campaign:
- Zero effect: The translation of the original message into
the languages of the foreign consumers may not bring any change to
the status of the company, in terms of brand image as well as
commercial repercussions.
- Positive effect: The translation has a positive effect in
the sense that it automatically increases brand awareness as well as
increase in demand on the market targeted by the translated
campaign.
- Negative effect: Advertising translations may not always
have a positive impact. In some cases translation nullifies the
strengths of the company on the international market and produces a
negative effect. Translations may not serve the interests of the
producers or those of the distributors.
Types of Projects/Work for Translation in the Advertising
Industry
- Brochures
- Catalogs
- Leaflets
- Press releases
- Newsletters
- Magazines
- Website Translation
- Flyers and Promotions
- Search Engine Optimization
- International Advertising
- International PPC Advertising
Wrong Translations of Ads
We give below few examples which depict how product names and slogans
get lost in wrong translation:
COORS (alcoholic beverages)
English = "Turn It Loose"
Spanish = "Suffer From Diarrhea"
CHEVY (automobiles)
English = "Chevy Nova"
Spanish = "Chevy, It Does Not Go"
PEPSI (soft drinks)
English = "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life"
Chinese = "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave"
CLAIROL (beauty & health care products)
English = "Mist Stick"
German = "Manure Stick"
SCHWEPPES (beverages)
English = "Schweppes Tonic Water"
Italian = "Schweppes Toilet Water"
KFC (fast-food chicken)
English = "Finger-Lickin' Good"
Chinese = "Eat Your Fingers Off"