My Five-Step Approach to Transcreation

Transcreation is a creative process that adapts the original

copy to create an effective message cross-culturally.

Such adaptation usually means writing new copy in order

to elicit the same emotional response from the target

audience; this is why a transcreator must be also

a copywriter.

Some elements that usually require transcreation are

taglines, advertising campaigns, product information

and website content.

For example, a tag line that reads "Fuel your instinct" may be rendered as "Despierta tu instinto" in Spanish. The back translation is "Wake up your instinct"; such variation is needed in order for the Spanish audience to accept the form of expression, while the intention and purpose of the original are retained. 

My five-step approach to transcreation is as follows:

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     I ask the client for the brief of the advertising campaign in the source country

     I review the original copy to identify which areas need adapting

     I send two/three suggestions based on what I know will work in Spanish

     I discuss with my client which one best meets their needs

     I deliver the transcreated copy

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Read the case study below to understand how I put my five-step approach into practice!

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Intro:  Trust Your Brand provided transcreation services for a betting house. The goal was to localise and culturally adapt various videos for the Spanish audience.

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Business Objective: The brand planned to promote new game options in Spain. In order to engage with Spanish consumers, taglines and marketing content needed to evoke the desired reaction in this target market.  

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What We Did:  We put together a team of transcreators (creative translators) on the localisation task, to develop the brand for the Spanish market. 

Game options were renamed and tag lines were adapted, to make them appeal to the Spanish market on an emotional level.

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Results: "Your work was just great!", they said. 

I have worked on numerous projects in the tourism and sports industries, conveying the essential idea of a marketing campaign from one country or culture to another, and eliciting the desired emotional response. 

If you are planning to start a new campaign for the Spanish market, I will be happy to have a chat with you!