The concept of transcreation has gained popularity in recent years. It is strongly associated with creative translation, so people tend to think of it as a form of translation that also bears the duties of copywriting. But in reality, transcreation has value beyond that of creative translations.

In this article, we’ll explain the basics of transcreation, its merits, and how to best use it to get your message across.

What is Transcreation?

A portmanteau combining the words “translation” and “creation,” transcreation has been utilized more and more as businesses continue to globalize. When translating for global customers, it’s not merely the same copy as before, but is a highly appealing marketing-oriented translation that is optimized for your intended readers. Instead of indirect explanations, in general it is a translation method using catchy expressions that have a strong and long-lasting impression that increases the appeal of the message — much like copywriting does. Rather than being faithful to the original text, it aims to use idioms, metaphors and other expressions that grab the reader’s attention and enhances the profile of the brand, product or service and leading to purchase. For this reason, it is best to use simple, natural and modern expressions to end up with a translation in the target language that is optimized for people in your target segment.

It has also become essential in recent years to use expressions that frequently appear at the top of internet searches so you can implement an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.

Transcreation is Translation That is Easy to Understand

The key to transcreation is to use expressions that are familiar to your target customers and attract and move them emotionally: basically, words that stick with them.

Confusing text feels alienating and doesn’t make the reader want to know more. On the other hand, writing that is easy to understand can give the reader positive feelings like enjoyment and interest, which can then easily become a desire to purchase and use your product.

Transcreation itself is an attractive expression that grabs the reader’s interest, and also one that is easy to understand. If readers can smoothly comprehend the content, it is more personal to them, and they can feel affinity for your product or service and become loyal customers.

Transcreation Sends a Clear Message

There are three main things to keep in mind to ensure that a transcreation speaks to your readers:

・Identifying your target
・Clarifying your message
・How you expect readers to react and act

Instead of simply staying faithful to an original text, Transcreation is the process of clarifying these three ideas and optimizing them in the target language.
This process of communicating a message to a target audience is the same as with copywriting. However, it doesn’t have to be exactly like copywriting. Instead, transcreation is the act of communicating your message to your target readers in their language in a way that will provoke the response and behavior you expect.
Transcreation makes it possible to comprehensively convey your message in target languages and is a stepping stone to effective global marketing. Use transcreation to do translation work and marketing for successful global business — all at the same time.

Transcreation and Toin

Our strength in transcreation lies in our deep knowledge of the cultures and customs of target markets, and our high-level writing skills in target languages. Our broadly experienced translators can provide translations that are optimized for the local environment, as well as transcreation proposals that perfectly suit our clients’ needs and heighten their appeal.

Transcreation transcends language barriers to more effectively win the hearts of your target customers by giving them the information they want to know in the best way possible, leading your global business to success. If you want to achieve effective marketing and branding, we hope you will consider Toin’s transcreation service.

Summary

At Toin, we use over half a century of know-how to produce translations that convey what makes your products special, and the image you want your company or brand to portray. Whether you need a translation that is faithful to the original text or a transcreation that tells the story of your product or brand, We are here to help you succeed in your global business outreach.
We provide transcreations with easy-to-understand expressions localized in the target language by integrating the target customers, region and product with content optimized for the local market using expressions that clearly resonate, leading to effective marketing.

If you are thinking of enhancing your global business marketing with transcreation, please get in touch with us at Toin.
See here to learn more about our transcreation service Transcreate Beyond, for translations that truly resonate.