Marketing Translation

One thing is certain about translating marketing documents, they need to mirror the basic ethos and deliver what the customer wants - in any language. Marketing materials are often the front-line interface between the company, its products and the consumer at a commercial and personal level and the information simply has to be correct.

There are many different types and styles of document from a strategy through to a piece of advertising copy and it is critical that the right word or phrase in a translation carries the same meaning as in its original 'lingua franca'. There are many examples of where it hasn't worked, to the detriment of the product and its success.

Types of documents

• Advertising copy
• Business cards
• Price lists
• Press releases
• Catalogues and brochures
• Marketing plans
• Presentations

Translation services can be undertaken in a variety of ways each depending on the number of countries that the products are being marketed into, it is important to note that for some countries where the basic language is, say, Spanish then the local usage and dialectical requirements might change:

• By employing a specialist translator at the sources of the original document, but if the material is multi-lingual this can require many specialists and they need to be 'native' speakers but fluent in the original language.
• Using proprietary and industry standard software and applying this to your documents - this may need to be checked later.
• Using the services of one of the many translation services available via the Internet.
• By using your own resources in the destination territory.
• There are new 'tools' on the market as well that can be used by tablets and smart-phones as an app for instantaneous translation whilst 'in territory', thus allowing for some latitude at a local level.

What is critical is that the translation has to be technically as well as culturally correct and phrased according to the needs of a territory to enable the core messages to be received and acted upon. There are also some 'rules of thumb' that may need to be kept in mind:

When you submit your documents to our translating agency, you can be sure that we guarantee confidentiality for every word of the document.

• Establish the need - how many countries, how many languages and the level of translation required.
• You need to find either a company or piece of software that allows for crosschecking to eliminate mistakes later.