Translation IS Marketing
14th October 2016
Companies should consider translation as part of their marketing strategy. Not only does it make sense to translate documentation for foreign territories, in order to reach new markets, quality translation helps to convey the company’s unique brand guidelines and identity.
A large part of any organisation’s budget is spent on marketing and many companies have strict guidelines on the style of any other documentation that leaves the building, whether it be tenders, reports, letter heads or even email footers. Documentation is also checked and signed off before being sent to a Client or for publication. The aim being that not only does the company enforce quality control of their output, a consistent brand identity is maintained across the organisation.
However, when it comes to individual projects, days and possibly months are spent in planning, designing and producing marketing material, surveys and email campaigns, with translation often only considered as an afterthought, once the English copy has been completed. Unfortunately this method of separating translation, from the rest of the creation processes, can have some detrimental effects, especially when it comes to marketing concepts.
In the contemporary world of collaboration, it makes sense to involve the translation agency as soon as possible. Dependant on the project, there may be a requirement for specialised linguists to be involved, whether engineering experts, or legal or medically knowledgeable. Many linguists, that are experts in a specific field, can be booked-up on projects well in advance and so by engaging with an agency, such as Foreign Tongues, a company can be sure that the right people will be working on the assignment.
Foreign Tongues are also able to advise on the best target languages, as well as any local culture and custom considerations that may need come in to play when translating marketing material and advertising. Certain words and phrases that work well in English may not work so well in Asian or Scandinavian countries, for example, where common concepts that the British market relate to simply don’t exist. With projects such as these, it benefits all parties to involve the translation agency as soon as possible, ideally at the concept stage (or at least briefed as to what a company is trying to achieve), so that any potential issues can be addressed before being signed off. It may be that the entire idea needs to be re-worked and so it’s better to discover this early on, rather than two days before going to print.
By involving Foreign Tongues as your translation partner as early as possible, we are better able to complement and infuse your company brand throughout our translation, providing you with a consistent brand message across the globe.
Partnership with Foreign Tongues enables your translated documents to become part of your whole marketing strategy, and makes sure you get the correct message across to your target audience first time round!
For help on your next project, contact Foreign Tongues to get the 20 minute quote.
