Transcreation – impacting local markets with the power of language

For whom and why – when transcreation should be used

Not every adaptation of content to the local situation is necessarily a creative service. For websites with a heavy dose of information, for instance, formal aspects – time and date format, units of measure, currencies – are often the focus in addition to linguistic adaptation. This is one aspect of website localisation. 

By contrast, we recommend transcreation primarily for content with a significant marketing focus: this could mean entire campaigns or individual slogans and advertisements. Product names are also something that should be thoroughly considered. Some car models like the Lada Nova (Spanish: ‘does not go’) or the Toyota MR2 (sounds like merde, which means "shit" in French) could have done with an expert review.

Many international companies such as BMW, McDonald’s and Dell are aware of the benefits of transcreation and have been using it for some time now. Some of the adaptations are legendary – and have become themselves a part of pop culture. „You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? A Royale with cheese!“ (Vincent in Pulp Fiction)

But not only major corporations make use of transcreation – small and medium-sized enterprises should also consider this approach. In general, we recommend transcreation whenever brands grow globally and hope to resonate on a local level.