Marketing Materials Localization

Localization of marketing materials is a much more complex process than simply translating the text. The primary objective of marketing materials is to spark interest in a company’s products, attract customers and ultimately sell a given product or service. Since advertising texts are aimed directly at potential buyers to induce them to buy the company’s products, they appeal to people’s feelings and emotions. Therefore, these materials have a strong socio-cultural connotation.

Given the above, translation is not merely about communicating the meaning of the text but also about creative reworking and adaptation of it to the local market and target audience.  This approach requires not only the work of a translator, but also of a professional copywriter. Without proper treatment, the translation may lose its “marketing force” and will no longer meet the initial objectives of the text.

A prime example of the importance of considering the distinctive features of the target language of the translation is the search for a name for Coca Cola in Chinese.  A literal reading of its name in Chinese as “ke-kou-ke-la“ gives “bite the wax tadpole“ or “female horse suffed with wax“. The company had to study thousands of Chinese characters in order to select a suitable sound and meaning.  In the end, they found a close phonetic equivalent, “ko-kou-ko-le”, meaning “happiness in the mouth”.

There are many such examples. They concern translations of idioms and slang, slogans and names. The cultural context and overall style of the text are also extremely important.
ABBYY Language Services has extensive experience in localizing marketing materials for various language directions. 

We take a 5-step approach to text adaptation:

1. Drawing up Project Requirements for all project participants (at the Customer’s request). This document may contain all of the Customer’s wishes and specifications both with respect to choosing the language tools and designing the material.
2. Translation of the text by a superior professional translator who works consistently on translations of marketing materials for a given sector.
3. Text editing by an academic editor, which guarantees appropriate transmission of the sense and correct use of terminology.
4. Treatment of the text by a professional copywriter to adapt the marketing text to the local market and target audience.
5. Final reading of the text by a proofreader.

Companies using our localization services include SAP, Samsung, Lenovo and Siemens, among others.