29 Apr
2015
The term “transcreation”
The term “transcreation” is relatively new and therefore not all people are aware of what it exactly means, what the role of a transcreator entails and what skills they should have.
To start with, let’s define “transcreation”. One simple definition is that it is the process of customizing content for a specific audience. That said, transcreation, unlike translation, is not merely transforming words from one language to another. It rather involves many aspects that have to be taken into account.
Transcreation is mainly associated with marketing materials. When a company is about to launch a marketing campaign in a region or a country, it needs to have all the materials written in the local language. It is well known that reading product documentation in your language has a great effect on how you view the product and directly affects your buying decision. Since marketing campaigns are associated with your company’s image and reputation, you have to carefully select the transcreator!
The successful transcreator should have a very polished style and the ability to “play” with words without compromising the meaning. It is highly recommended that the transcreator is based in the region where the marketing campaign will be launched. This guarantees that they live the same culture as the target audience and is therefore able to add the cultural sense to the content. Finally, they should also have good knowledge of the product being marketed.
To sum up, every transcreator is a translator but not the opposite! A transcreator to a translator is like a copywriter to a writer. The transcreator delivers a copy of the content in a local flavor!
