Localisation – Codex Website

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How can companies avoid falling into the trap of creating an advert or campaign that doesn’t translate well or is culturally insensitive?

When a company creates an advertising campaign, it must work in all countries it will be broadcasted to so it’s correctly understood and has the intended impact.

That involves working with local linguists with relevant sector-specific expertise to make sure that every single word or implied notion is understood as intended, does not offend, or look ill-informed.

There have been countless examples of companies not doing this, which should convince anyone how important it is to make sure that every adaptation is up to the highest standard it can be.

Once upon a time, Coors advertising team came up with the phrase ‘Turn it Loose’ to appeal to people to have a good time and drink their beverage.

However it was not the loose they intended as when it was directly translated to Spanish, it became ‘diarrhoea’. No one wants a beer to do that to them.

Occasionally, issues can arise when no thought is given to how a campaign may be perceived by the audience in relation to current events.

KFC’s ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ tagline is clearly very memorable, but could have come across as incredibly tactless had it not been removed so quickly at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The team behind the iconic phrase blurred it out so as not to encourage people to lick their fingers when the virus was spreading so rapidly around the globe.

Another company that could have avoided a public ‘roasting’ by investing properly in its translation strategy is one of the biggest in the world – Amazon.

The online selling site launched in Sweden recently but many were quick to spot that their translations were not thought out.

Many seem to think they were adapted from English to Swedish using only machine translation considering the many mistakes made.

These mistranslations will have caused countless hours of reworking the website by the Amazon team, which need not have happened had they had local linguists work alongside them.

So how do you avoid going down the same road as these big brands?

Working with native linguists will always help. There is no one better to tell you if a campaign will work than someone who is experienced with branding as well based in the market.

Codex Global offers a wide range of services that are designed to overcome the linguistic and cultural differences that can pose risk to brands looking to increase their global presence.

Cultural consultations, market insights, transcreation, multilingual keyword research and brand management are just a few examples of services that can help brands ensure that their messaging is sensitive to the local climate and makes the right impact.

If you’d like to find out how Codex Global can help your brand, contact the team at info@codexglobal.net

November 23rd, 2020

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The eyes of the world

London Fashion Week 2017 has drawn to a close after showcasing many of the UK’s finest emerging and established fashion brands. It offers these brands tremendous exposure, with every seam and cut discussed in detail online. However, does this attention translate globally?

The problem is that the majority of this coverage, attention and output is in English. The reality of the global market, however, is that English is not as widely used as many think. In fact, only 28% of people online speak English [1], so getting a brand’s message across is not as simple as it may at first seem.

Global reputation

The internet is a natural home for fashion, offering instant access to a global market hungry for the very latest products. Leading to events like London Fashion Week live streaming shows and using social media to create ‘hype’ more efficiently and effectively than ever before to exploit this.

However, brands often overlook just how challenging it is to communicate with these global markets. Online, over 90% of consumers prefer their own language [2], which means having output in just one language (such as English) may not be enough for many brands.

If a brand has spent considerable time building a reputation for style, innovation or other values that are relevant to the consumers they are targeting, then they need to be sure that this translates. Under these circumstances, one language or simple, direct translation into the desired languages may be insufficient.

The details

Getting these more intangible brand elements and values across to your audience requires more understanding and more creativity.

Brands working in a global market need to be sure that their translated messages promote their ethos and beliefs while remaining sensitive to local cultural and social expectations. This is exactly what localisation and transcreation services are designed to do.

So, any brands wanting to translate London Fashion Week attention and excitement into global success need make sure they consider their audience. If their brand has a message or attitude it wants to convey, then using right words and tone in the right language is imperative. As sometimes such nuanced messages can get lost in translation (or lack of), if not done with consideration.

February 20th, 2017

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Codex Global Limited a leading European language service provider with offices in UK, Europe and The Middle East has been awarded the accolade of best localisation partner for Ricoh the international business services company with its European headquarters in Holland. Codex provides translation, proofreading and multilingual art working for Ricoh in up to 25 languages.

Presenting the award to Codex Global project manager Alessia Acquarone on behalf of the Mr. Takashi Munakata Sr. Manager ELC Ricoh Europe (Netherlands) BV, Rupert Foster the Codex MD said;

“Everyone at Codex is delighted by this achievement for the second year in a row. We would like to thank all the Ricoh project managers for their help in building the excellent working relationship that has facilitated this award.”

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Amsterdam, The Netherlands in January at the HQ for Ricoh Europe

January 27th, 2017

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Ricoh-award-1

Codex Global Limited, a leading European language service provider with offices in UK, Europe and The Middle East, has been awarded the accolade of best localisation partner for Ricoh, the international business services company with European headquarters in Holland. Codex provides translation, proofreading and multilingual artworking for Ricoh in 25 languages.

Presenting the award to Codex Global project manager Jiaqu Xu on behalf of the Ricoh management, Rupert Foster the Codex MD said; “Codex is utterly committed to providing its customers with quality work, delivered in budget, on schedule and using the latest technology. It is tremendous to receive this award in recognition of our commitment to best practice in our industry”.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands in September at the HQ for Ricoh Europe.

October 3rd, 2016

Posted In: Codex, Localisation

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