The Linguist

The Linguist 57,4 - August/September 2018

The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology

Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/1010759

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 15 of 35

16 The Linguist Vol/57 No/4 2018 ciol.org.uk/tl FEATURES Early collaboration between transcreator, creative agency and client is key to the success of an international advertising campaign, argue Guido Brandt and Todd Anderson I deas are the lifeblood of advertising. Yet no matter how clever an idea may be, the success of its international implementation is a challenge for even the brightest creative department. Without the right delivery, an advertising campaign that has landed with sophisticated impact in one market, turning heads and scoring a positive response, may go down like a lead balloon in another. Successfully breaching cultural barriers requires early collaboration with a transcreation team capable of dismantling the campaign idea and reconstructing it in a form that maintains its core message abroad. Barriers that once separated the role of transcreator from that of copywriter or translator have become as fluid as those that separate the role of today's journalist from that of the polemicist. At what stage does one set of responsibilities end and another begin? Adapt Copywriting and Design has almost two decades of experience in the transcreation of advertising texts for German companies competing on the international stage. Based in Berlin and working closely with companies in such advertising hubs as Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich, we strive to tackle a given project in its conceptual stage, working with the agency charged with its creation and implementation often on the inaugural brainstorming. The agency can thus tap into our transcreation/copywriting know-how to assess the campaign's regional or international feasibility. Our network of researchers can be quickly mobilised should a secondary consultation phase be required. This often takes the form of a culture assessment, with research ranging from an appraisal of the campaign's design to exploring the potential receptivity of a target market to an English adaptation. Does colour, for instance, play a critical role and, if so, how will it be variously interpreted? White, traditionally symbolic of chastity in Western societies, is the colour of death in some Asian ones. Red can trigger a multitude of associations. Our research on the planned aesthetics of Austrian Air's frequent-flyer lounge, for example, turned up amusing results: its 'Red Lounge' conjured up the idea of a posh airport brothel in some SELLING SUCCESS

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Linguist - The Linguist 57,4 - August/September 2018