People think differently. It’s a constant challenge with communicators to group people into ‘demographics’ so as to better target them, but there will always be an exception to the rule: the blonde designer wearing Harvard lawyer, or the jock who’s not unlike the rain, or the menacing teacher who is a softie all along.
Every culture has a different approach to . . . well, almost anything. Just check out some of these outstanding adverts by HSBC that explore this:
As you can see,just because you can communicate with someone, doesn’t mean that they are going to understand. At least, understand as you would hope them to. That is why localisation is just as, if not more so, important than translation.
You may not have worked with these elements differently, so here’s a whistle stop tour: translation is changing a word from one language to another, and localisation is making it relevant for that new reader’s culture.
Translation is easy.Localisation is hard.
Business that want to be able to reach new markets abroad will often settle for translation only, arguing that it’s a cheaper option, that they’re testing the water anyway, and that if things go well, then they can invest a little more time (and money) into localisation.
Big mistake.
If you had one chance to plead for the life of a loved one, would you do a little prep? Would you pay for public speaking training, ensure that your presentation was up to date, and bring a spare laptop cable? We thought so. Why would you do any less for your business?
It just takes one international embarrassment for your brand reputation to take a real knock – as Electroplux proved in YEAR when the Swedish company launched their vacuum cleaner in English speaking countries with the tagline ‘Nothing sucks like an Electroplux’.
Don’t leave yourbusiness’ success in another countryto chance: ensure that you are focusing on localising your content as well as translating it. This may sound easier said than done, but there are three simple ways that you can make this an absolute breeze:
1. Get a local on board.
There is no better way to understand a new territory than by getting someone on side who grew up there, or has lived there for a while. Trust them implicitly, and go with their suggestions to amend your translations, because they will be able to explore the meaning of the words, not just the words themselves. You can do this through an agency, hire a freelancer, or if your company is really expanding, delegate this to someone in the international office. Don’t do a Pepsi and lose your dominant market share to Coca Cola in South East Asia because you’ve changed your vending machines to light blue, a colour associated with death and mourning.
2. Stop using idioms.
Or at least be willing to have them removed or swapped for local ones. You can lead a fish to water, but you can’t make a horse drink, so if you pay through the nose to watch their heads explode, you may add insult to injury by treating them like a hot potato when you cut corners, and you’ll be back to the drawing board because you barked up the wrong tree. Just don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
3. Immerse yourself in the culture.
When we write, we play with connotations, expectations, and hesitations. We joy in the unexpected riddle, the reference to fairy tale, and the jokes that we grew up with. We extol in purple prose, drown ourselves in metaphor, and lay things out in the simplest terms. But you can rarely do that in a second language, and you can barely do it through a translator. Don’t make Pampers mistake: they launched nappies in Japan with images of storks delivering children on the packaging, but there’s no such folklore in Japan (the myth there is that giant floating peaches bring babies, and let’s be honest, either makes as much sense as the other).
It’s time to immerse yourself in the culture you are targeting: read their children’s stories, learn their superstitions, understand their political situation. This will enrich your language even when writing your first draft, and will make the translator and localiser’s jobs so much easier.
Anything here been helpful? We’re the experts in telling a good story, and we could be telling yours. Why not get in touch for a chat?
