As the
world gets smaller due to internet-powered globalization and more opportunities
keep emerging in foreign markets, brands with global expansion plans must
position themselves to take advantage of these prospects as they come. A
crucial component towards achieving this depends on how they (brands) can
creatively adapt their message in other languages and still evoke the same
desired emotional response with their foreign audiences. This is essentially
what transcreation is all about.

But in a world fast evolving due to technology, what does the future hold for transcreation? What should brands and translation agencies be on the lookout for as consumer demands keep changing? In this article, we explore all these and a lot more.

What is
transcreation, and where is it most used?

Transcreation
comes from two words; “Translation” and “Creation”. Merely
interpreting the two words separately gives you a sense of what it means. But
in simple terms, transcreation is the process of creatively adapting a message
to another language while conveying the message’s original subtleties like;
style, context, emotion, and intent.

Transcreation
is centered on marketing and
advertising, two of which go hand-in-hand with one another. Otherwise, why
would a business spend valuable resources looking for creative ways to adapt
its message?

For this
reason, brands utilize transcreation; as part of their branding (slogan and
taglines), advert campaigns, marketing copies, brochures, and many more. We
have seen past instances where the ordinary translation of a business’s content
brought about negative outcomes and
financial consequences.

Overview
of the transcreation industry

Although
transcreation may have only gone mainstream in the translation industry a few years
ago (in the early 2000s), its usage in other segments like academia and gaming
dates back more than 40 years ago. Once advertising agencies in the ’90s got
wind of just how essential it was to adapt campaigns to a foreign audience,
there was no going back.

The rise
of the internet and digital marketing in recent times has seen transcreation
take the main-stage. Digital marketing powered by social media has brought more
platforms and content formats to the fold of diverse audiences. Formats, which
are in the form of social posts, blogs, email newsletters, long and short
format videos, and many more, all require creative ways to pass across a
brand’s message, connect with the audience on a deeper level, and influence
some form of conversion.

Technology
driving the future of transcreation

It should
be clear from the overview that now and going forward, technology has an
important role to play and is a major driving force for transcreation. But you
may be wondering how that would play out. Well, here are some ways;

The
internet creating more aware consumers.

Internet
proliferation and the abundance of information in the public domain have
created an army of very informed consumers. Therefore, transcreators and
translation agencies, in general, have to conduct extensive market research to
know more about their audience preferences. They also need to be super creative
when attempting to adapt a brand’s message to another language while at the
same time maintaining the desired emotions, context, and intent.

AI and Big
data influencing market research

We just
mentioned how market research is crucial to establishing the right narrative in
a brand’s message. Technological advances in artificial intelligence and
machine learning, besides saving time, labor, and market research costs, would
provide translation agencies with accurate and sufficient information that they
need when creating a business’s campaign to a foreign audience. A
transcreator’s focus can be towards creating the right message to bring about
successful market entry.

Mobile
marketing taking over

With over 2.71 billion
smartphone users in the world presently
and counting, it is no longer tenable to ignore this demographic who spend over
three hours and
fifteen minutes daily on their mobile device. The most
logical thing to do for any business trying to capture a share of these users
is to adapt and optimize your content for smartphone users. Translation
agencies must develop messages that are catchy to grab the audience’s attention,
but at the same time, are precise and straight-forward.

Other
areas where technology affects transcreation, especially going forward; is in
the rise of e-learning due to the pandemic and software localization.

Conclusion

The internet age may have brought along with it
digital marketing that seems to pull down geographical barriers when it comes
to doing business, but it also made transcreation at the heart of it since
brands need to align their content and messages to potential foreign customers.

At the same time, technology is poised to be the
primary driver for transcreation as we go forward, with the same internet and
artificial intelligence playing pivotal roles. 

Translation agencies must be ready to adopt
technological advancements to enhance the adaptation of campaigns in other
languages.

Translationinlondon has a
team of creative specialists that use cutting-edge technologies to conduct
market research to develop campaigns that give the best emotional response as
you explore foreign markets.