TRANSCREATION
We can help you to launch international campaigns with our transcreation services
You devote a lot of time and energy to creating campaigns and messages at an international level. But if you translate a message literally in a market that isn't your own, you may ruin your brand image as your content does not come across as natural or authentic!
WHAT EXACTLY IS TRANSCREATION?
Transcreation is a creative form of translation. As a result, a translator who specialises in marketing has much more freedom to move away from the source text and create a new text - one capable of having the same emotional impact on the target audience. Translators who produce this type of translation, in addition to being native in the target language, are also specialists in copywriting.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LOCALISATION AND TRANSCREATION
It's clear that there are major similarities between these two types of translation, but some features are key to understanding the differences. Firstly, in localisation, the meaning of content remains the same as the original text, but in the translation process language is adapted culturally to the reader. In transcreation however, the meaning of content may be adapted according to the brand's business and communication objectives. Here, we're looking at translating concepts, ideas, feelings, and reactions for a new audience.
Another differentiating factor is that creative translation takes into account aspects such as word play and the musicality of the language used. Often this is a case of moving completely away from the source text to create a new piece - one that evokes the same feelings in the target language.
TEXTS THAT USUALLY REQUIRE TRANSCREATION
WHEN IS TRANSCREATION NECESSARY?
One of the fields with the biggest need for transcreation is advertising. In this area, it is important to look beyond a linguistic adaptation of a text and make sure the message has the same impact and provokes the same feelings as the original, regardless of where in the world the message is received.
Because a creative message that works in one country could well be offensive in another, or a literal translation could lose its meaning completely.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRANSCREATION AND COPYWRITING
As we have seen, copywriting is persuasive style of writing. In other words, the aim is to convince the reader that your product or service is the best and that they simply must buy it. In short, it is selling using the power of words.
When it comes to using the copywriter's text in other languages, we have three options:
- Translating the text. Even where the purpose is to generate a text which sounds natural in the target language, potentially changing the structures and phrasing which are specific to the source, we can never lose sight of the original text.
- International copywriting. A copywriter who is native to your target market rewrites the text, taking into account its purpose and the action you wish to inspire in the reader. Obviously, this text may be far from the wording of the original text.
- Transcreation. This is the combination of copywriting and translation. Marketing is based upon emotions that brands try to inspire so that their audience will take the desired action. Furthermore, considering that each country and region has its own culture, do you think that a literal translation, however natural it may sound, is the answer? The answer is no. And that's where transcreation comes into play: Knowing how to combine all of the above in a natural way, so that the reader does not know that the text is translated, but rather perceives it as a creation all of its own. Transcreation is the process of translating creative language, and sits somewhere between translation and copywriting. This specialisation is more and more in demand by marketing departments and communication and advertising agencies.
ADVANTAGES OF WORKING WITH ATLS
- We work with professional translators who are native speakers, specialising in transcreation, and with international copywriters.
- We are experts in transcription and digital marketing.
- We have 23 years' experience in creative translation for the main multinational companies in our country.