In this article, we will discuss some important aspects of translating advertisements and the role of Advertising and Marketing Translation Services.

What things should an experienced translator be aware of when translating ads?

Translation of Advertisements

Translation of advertisements is a specific word that encompasses a range of different tasks. The advertisements themselves are vastly different.

Large-budget television ads are used by companies as radio ads, as well as social media and print media ads. They also use paid advertisements on other websites and their site as a marketing tool.

In addition, the translation process is not limited to the words of the advert but audio and visual elements. All of them need to be translated and localized and perhaps transcreated to ensure that the final version of the advert is for the intended audience.

The term "advertisement translation" generally encompasses everything mentioned above and more. It's converting an advertisement designed for a particular audience to a format that can resonate with a different target audience.

This could include the language that is transformed into a foreign language.

The ad may also be translated for people who use another version of the language it was originally written in. An example of translating advertising to Spanish could result in an ad being converted from Mexican Spanish to European Spanish.

The advantages of correctly translating your advertisement include a broader client base, higher profit margins, and a general reputation for your brand and products. It is enough to say that this area requires a lot of attention.

Things To Consider When Integrating Translations Into International Advertising

Let's first glance at the issues you'll have to consider when working on the project.

Context

Advertising is an art form. Your advertisement should communicate your brand's values, why consumers should buy your product, and what your distinct selling points are at the minimum.

It must accomplish all of this in a manner that readers and viewers will find enjoyable and memorable.

A lot of brands employ humor and pop-culture references to accomplish this. However, these aspects do not always translate well. This is where the context comes into play.

An effective advertisement must be in the context of its target audience. Many Agencies have a well-established localization management platform.

This allows them to inculcate proper context within their translated content. But the question remains, how do such platforms manage contextual complexities?

This can be broken into three elements:

Cultural and Socio-Historical Context

Each advertisement will have nuances distinct from the culture that created it. The underlying assumptions of socio-historical and cultural origins are not likely to be immediately evident to people who are a part of the same culture as the advertisement's creators.

However, they may be numbingly apparent to those who come from diverse backgrounds and have different experiences.

Effective translating advertisements for diverse audiences requires considering the socio-cultural context closely. In this context, many agencies use Neural Machine Translation services to get the job done.

Rhetorical Context

However persuasive the advertisement's message must be clear; it has to work perfectly with the public's understanding of the company. The context of the rhetoric is crucial in this case and should be considered.

For instance, the oil industry advertising clean energy may make some people squirm. However, suppose the business is transparent about the environmental harm the oil industry is responsible for and can prove that it is moving towards a green energy future. Now that's an entirely different issue that people are more likely to be in line with.

Linguistic Context

Thinking cautiously about the language you employ when translating your advertisement is essential. An incorrect selection of words or awkward phraseology could make people angry or transform your brand into an unpopular brand.

Also, consider how the snippets of your advertising copy could sound if taken from context. Do they need the complete narrative to avoid offending? If yes, it may be worthwhile to look for alternatives.

The Current Cultural Climate

Advertising materials that are translated need to be considered in conjunction with the local context of culture and the larger global culture.

If you cannot integrate an awareness of both in your advertisement, it's most likely to be in error or, worse yet, to appear out of date quickly.

This is also an important aspect of movies nowadays, where people are trying to respect foreign cultures by translating content and dubbing films. The role of film translation services has become increasingly important these days.

Channel

If you're translating advertisements, you'll have to consider the channels marketers use that meet the demographics you want to reach within the region you've decided to target.

Are you more effective at communicating with print media or via an email-based marketing strategy? Are social networks the most effective method? And if they are, which are the most popular in your targeted countries?

These choices determine the type of advertisement translation you make from the text you use to the image.

Therefore, it is essential to know your plan long before the moment when the actual localization and translation of advertisements commences.

Data

Data is another important consideration. What data privacy laws apply to your market? Can you run cold emails?

What are you required to accomplish to collect email addresses as a result of your marketing activities on your website? Deciding on this before letting your translators go to work is essential.

Research

If you include any claim in your advertisements, you'll need to determine if your research is still relevant for the intended market.

For instance, if you sell beard oil to the UK and plan to market beard oil to customers in other European countries, the attitudes towards having beards likely differ from one country.

Therefore, your study that found that x% of males who live in the UK wear beards will have to be repeated in each of the markets you intend to target and the advertisement updated accordingly.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed some important aspects of ad translation. The important thing to understand is that the translation of advertisements requires professional assistance and is not everybody's cup of tea. Therefore, it's imperative to take assistance from professional ad translation services to get the job done.

Role of Translation in International Advertising