Hi everyone!
Today I want to talk about marketing translations and transcreation. I’ve been working in this field for a while and thought sharing my experience would be interesting.
Lately, I’ve seen growth in the marketing/ads field for translation and quality assurance. Big companies, especially in the telecommunications and retail areas, need to make sure that their ads reach everyone, including Spanish speakers in the US and Latin America.
Google Ads consist of several headlines and descriptions. The challenge for a translator is that these headlines and descriptions have a character limit. So, for example, with the headlines, you cannot go over 30 characters. Therefore, it isn’t a matter of just translating the text, you have to make sure that it doesn’t go over the character limit but still conveys the meaning of the source text in a clear and natural way in the target language.
Of course, companies and agencies will provide you with a guide for the translation and proofreading of these texts. They will also give you tips on how to work with certain lengthy ones.
I’ve also been translating the texts for ad “cards”. These ones are for graphic ads which are published on the client’s website. These also can be tricky because you need to make sure that they take the same space, or as close as possible, as the source text. Otherwise, the text will go over the pictures that are included in the card. I am an English to Spanish translator, and if you speak these two languages, you know how Spanish is lengthier than English, it usually takes more words to convey the same message.
This is where your creativity has to kick in: “How do I translate this text in the least amount of characters possible but without losing the meaning and essence of the source?” Well, is not always easy. You really have to think about the possible alternatives and choose the one you think fits best. And that may not be enough sometimes. The graphic designers might get back to you asking for an ever shorter version!
Still, I like this type of work. I get to translate and review, but I also get to use my creativity as a writer. I guess you get the best of both worlds.
How about you? Have you worked on marketing translations like these? What has your experience been like? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Thanks again to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Click on the link to their website to learn more about the services they offer.
Until next time, take care and stay safe!
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Translation Expert 