That’s what transcreation does. It ensures your content isn’t just translated but completely repositioned when needed to best appeal to your target audience in another culture – while preserving what’s most important about the brand.

Transcreation entails conveying the genuine essence, style, tone, and cultural subtleties of the original message. The aim is to elicit identical emotions and impact on the audience while prioritizing effectiveness and cultural relevance over literal word-for-word translation. It requires understanding the context, cultural references, idiom

 

WHEN TO USE TRANSCREATION

TYPE OF MATERIAL	DEFINITION / EXAMPLES	RATIONALE TO CLIENT
Marketing materials	Advertisements, slogans, taglines, and promotional campaigns often rely on cultural references, humor, wordplay, or idiomatic expressions that may not directly translate.	Transcreation ensures that the intended message and impact are effectively conveyed to the target audience.
Website content	Websites often include creative and persuasive content that requires adaptation to resonate with the local culture and preferences.	Transcreation helps capture the essence of the original content while tailoring it to suit the target market’s language and cultural nuances.
Brand names and product names	Names play a significant role in branding and marketing.	Transcreation may be necessary to develop brand names or product names that are catchy, memorable, and culturally appropriate for the target market.
Slogans and catchphrases	Catchy slogans and memorable catchphrases are often crafted specifically for a particular market.	Transcreation ensures that the intended impact, tone, and cultural relevance of these linguistic elements are preserved in the target language.
Social media content	Social media platforms require engaging and culturally relevant content that resonates with the target audience.	Transcreation helps adapt social media posts, captions, and hashtags to maintain the desired tone and impact across different languages and cultures.
Creative content	Literary works, poems, song lyrics, and scripts for TV shows or movies	These materials often rely on artistic expression, wordplay, and cultural references that may require adaptation to maintain their artistic integrity and impact in the target language.
Brand guidelines and communication style guides	Brand story and history, logo usage, messaging, brand positioning, etc.	Transcreation may be necessary to adapt brand guidelines and communication style guides to ensure consistency and effectiveness across different cultures and languages while maintaining the brand’s identity.

 

TRANSCREATION PROCESS

The transcreation process typically involves multiple iterations and close collaboration between the transcreator, the client, and other stakeholders to ensure the final output meets the desired objectives. It requires a deep understanding of the target market, cultural sensitivities, and linguistic subtleties to produce engaging and impactful content that effectively conveys the intended message.