Transcreation and Why It is Important

In today's global marketplace, accurate and effective translation is a critical component of effective advertising campaigns. In fact, in many situations more is required than translation alone for best results. Transcreation can lead to highly impactful and appealing marketing initiatives that transcend linguistic and cultural barriers.

What is Transcreation?

In the marketing world, transcreation can be defined as the adaptation of advertising copy to align with the target audience of another language, nationality, or culture. The term itself is a combination of "translation" and "re-creation."

Whereas the translation process is focused on accurately conveying the same thoughts from the source material into the target language, transcreation allows for a higher degree of creative latitude on the part of the translator. This is often necessary in order for copy to truly resonate with consumers of a different dialect or background.

For example, a native Korean may not understand the literal translation of the English idiom "birds of a feather flock together." However, the transcreative process would allow for substitution of the original phrasing with a Korean equivalent that carries the same basic concept: "the crayfish sides with the crab."

Benefits of Transcreation 

Transcreation offers a number of key advantages over strict translation, such as:

1. The freedom to adapt concepts to specific languages and cultures
2. The latitude to adjust not only marketing copy, but also adjacent branding (e.g., color schemes, logo designs, and other visual elements)
3. Maximum impact on the target consumer's mind and heart, since a core message that takes his background into account will resonate with him more deeply than an advertisement expressed in "foreign" terms

Of course, transcreation requires a deep knowledge of the target audience, strict attention to detail, and a high level of creativity. In order to get high quality results, it's important to partner with a reputable, experienced translation firm, like Cuttingedge Translation Services. Reach out to our team of translation and transcreation experts today to get a free quote.

Note: “The content of this article/website is written by 3rd party content writers and may be directly published by them, therefore Cuttingedge Translation Services (company), its employees or directors can not guarantee the accuracy of the content. The content does not reflect the views of Cuttingedge Translation Services, its employees or directors. The company therefore does not accept liability for any error or omissions in the contents of this article/website. If you feel the information is incorrect or have any suggestions for improvement, please write to us. The company reserves the right to review, rectify, change, publish, un-publish or delete the content of articles at any time. The company believes in fostering peace, promote harmony and use of language translation services.”