What is Advertising Translation? When is Advertising Translation Needed?

What is Advertising Translation? When Is Advertising Translation Needed?

Advertisements rely on introducing a product and calling out to the consumer. Advertising texts are written in a different style to create an effect that attracts the attention of consumers, keeps them in mind, and awakens a desire to buy in the consumer. For this reason, it is crucial that the professional advertisement translators perform advertisement translations in accordance with the advertisement’s original theme.

Thanks to the technological developments that gained momentum in the 20th century, the facilitation of international trade has made the advertisement translation sector a rapidly developing areas. Although more than half the global population uses 23 languages, there are 7,000 languages spoken around the world. For this reason, companies that want to promote their products to the whole world and aim to become a global brand place importance on advertising translation.

What Is the Importance of International Advertising?

Accurate Translation is Essential for International Advertising!

These companies aim to find a solid place on the international platform and prefer to work with translators and companies specialized in advertising, to get support in quality translation and creative translation. This made the professional translation services sector an indispensable component of global trade and consumption. Translation companies provide services in many fields, such as advertising video translation, internet advertising translation, product launch translation, advertising brochure translation, and marketing translation with teams of translators who are experts in the field of advertising.

Translating the Advertising Catchphrases

One of the most important issues in advertising translation is the translating catchphrases. This is because the process of creating advertising catchphrases often uses word games and metaphors. A catchphrase translation is sometimes more important than a few minutes of commercial video translation, because catchphrases are shorter and easier to remember. For this reason, a professional advertising translator primarily examines the traditional and sociocultural differences between the source and target audiences to most appropriately and efficiently produce the catchphrase translation. After gaining sufficient knowledge about the people whom the company wants to reach with the catchphrase, the translator starts working on the catchphrase translation. For example, in the Far East, a literal translation of the catchphrase "Come Alive With Pepsi" comes out as something like “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From The Dead”. Thus, catchphrase translation is performed with great care, not as literal translations but by considering the entire meaning and purpose of the catchphrase.

Importance of Creativity in Advertising Translation

In addition to metaphors and humor, other methods that frequently seen in the creation of advertising catchphrases are homonyms, reiteration, and rhyming. The purpose of these methods is to add harmony to the catchphrase and, more importantly, to make it easier to remember. Although not easy to find corresponding words when translating catchphrases, translators who are experts in advertising often do great things thanks to their skills and experience in creative translation. There are certain restrictions on the time and place to advertise a product on print, visual, or audio platforms. Therefore, ads must be as short, clear, and striking as possible. In this regard, catchphrase translations are, like creating catchphrases, linguistic arts.

Mistakes to be Avoided in Advertising Translation

On the other hand, some brand names can to an extent force a professional advertising translator to do advertising translation or catchphrase translation. For example, the brand name “Coca-Cola” corresponds to a sentence about wax in China, and by translating the brand “Mercedes-Benz” as “Bensi”, a sentence emerges about quickly moving away from this world. Today, at a time when globalization has accelerated, it is easier to glimpse clear examples of such false statements. Many newly established companies research the most widely spoken languages in the world, primarily the language of the target audience, in the process of creating brand names.

Which Criteria Are Used when Determining Advertising Translation Prices? How Does the Advertising Translation Prices Differ?

Many different factors are taken into account when determining the advertising translation prices. For this reason, factors may differ according to each translation company. Prices are calculated according to criteria such as the language of the text to be translated, the target language, the number of words, how much time the translation will take, and the level of urgency. That is why it is important to determine your needs correctly with your service provider.

Written By: Esra Çengel

Date of Publication: 01/28/2020

Target Audience: All Translators, People Who Need Translation Services

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