Marketing Translation and Transcreation

What is the difference between translation and transcreation?

Translation reproduces meaning and is measured against the source. Transcreation reproduces effect and is measured against the brief — the transcreator has licence to change the wording, the reference and sometimes the idea, as long as the intent, tone and brand voice survive the move.

The distinction matters commercially because transcreation costs more and takes longer, and because it needs a different deliverable: options with rationale rather than a single rendered text. Asking for transcreation on a whole website is usually a mistake; asking for it on the fifteen lines that actually do the persuading is usually right.

We recommend splitting the asset. Body copy, specifications, FAQs and legal notes get translation. Headlines, taglines, campaign concepts, subject lines and calls to action get transcreation with two or three options and a note on what each one does differently.

Should search keywords be translated?

No — they should be researched in the target language. A translated keyword reflects how your source market phrases the need; a researched one reflects how the target market actually types it. The two are often different words entirely, and the translated version has the lower volume.

This is also the point where a good translation can undermine a page. If the translator writes the elegant synonym and the researched demand sits on the plain one, the page reads beautifully and ranks for nothing. Give the linguist the keyword list as a constraint, and say which terms are non-negotiable.

• Research demand in the target language before writing the page, not after
• Expect a different page structure where the local intent is different
• Match metadata to the researched term, not to the translated headline
• hreflang tells search engines which version serves which market; it does not localise anything

What do you need from us to keep the brand voice?

Three things, and they are quick to assemble: a short tone-of-voice description, a glossary including the terms that must never be translated, and two or three examples of copy you consider on-brand plus one you consider off-brand. The off-brand example is the most useful of the set.

Without this, a linguist infers your voice from the source text alone, which flattens it toward neutral. With it, the first draft lands close enough that review becomes a conversation about preference rather than a rewrite.

Name a reviewer on your side who speaks the language and has authority to approve wording. Marketing review loops fail more often from unclear authority than from bad translation.

How do you handle copy that has to fit a fixed space?

By treating the character limit as part of the brief. Translated copy generally runs longer than English — Romance languages around 15–25%, German often 20–35% because compound nouns cannot be broken mid-word — so a button, banner or subject line needs its limit stated up front.

Send the limit with the string, or send the layout. A linguist who knows a CTA has 18 characters will write to 18 characters; one who does not will write the best line and someone will truncate it later, usually badly.