A brief primer

Translation vs Transcreation

Understanding the difference between translation and transcreation is critical in Hispanic marketing communications. Here’s a brief primer designed to enhance cultural competence in professional communications. Reading time: 7 minutes.

What is transcreation? Let us start with the extremes: at one end of the spectrum is translation, defined as a faithful, accurate, and culturally appropriate rendering of a message in a different language; at the other end is Spanish copywriting, copy written in Spanish from scratch using a creative brief, and which may even include English and Spanglish.

Transcreation is something in between, a hybrid of the two, requiring the skill sets for both translation and copywriting.

Translations start with a source text (the original copy in English) and require a focus on accuracy and completeness. In fact, an Affidavit of Accuracy (for a Certified Translation) requires that the translation be accurate and complete: both are key factors in translation quality.

Copywriting starts with a creative brief and requires a focus on relevant engagement for an effective response.

Transcreations are a blend the two: A bilingual and bicultural copywriter/translator works from two key documents, English copy and the creative brief, to generate Spanish, Spanglish, and/or bilingual copy that works with its intended audience. The transcreation may not incorporate everything that is in the English version, could have added content, and potentially could be neither “accurate” nor “complete,” technically speaking.

Who does what

Translators think of accuracy as most important in their work, and rightly so. Since much of the translation industry consists of technical copy, most translators, while competent writing professionals, tend to be technical writers, and seldom have the training or experience to depart in a creative yet disciplined way from what’s written in English. Buyer beware: There are translators and translation agencies who offer transcreation services without having actual copywriting experience.

Specialization

Since transcreation requires the skill sets for both translation and copywriting, a transcreator needs to qualify as both translator and advertising copywriter. Just as most bilingual copywriters may not have the technical writing skills to tackle many translation assignments, most translators aren’t copywriters and can’t do effective transcreations. Without education and experience working with concepts such as consumer behavior insights, spending patterns, buying motivation, decision making, response to features and benefits, brand architecture and positioning, segmentation strategies, and choice architecture, you can’t write effective copy, regardless of how comprehensive the brief may be.

A copywriter with market research experience, for example, is a valuable team member for translating and transcreating advertising as well as surveys, moderator guides, interviews, and questionnaires.

The mantra “Don’t translate, transcreate” points to the vast difference between translations and advertising creative copy. Translations can result, at best, in clever messages for the mind, while transcreations produce powerful messages for the heart. (Remember that buying decisions, even in B2B, are primarily emotional.)

Deliverables

While translation assignments are typically delivered in two columns (original or source text and translated or target text), the deliverables for transcreation assignments often include three or four columns, and may include a backtranslation, as well as rationale and comments for art directors and for marketing and legal approval.

A key difference I've noticed between translations and transcreations is copy length. A 500-word piece in English often results in a translation of 650+ words, but a transcreation of 500 words or less. This is critical when working with social media content, Google ads, and most other digital work such as emails. The key difference, however, is copy effectiveness. 

A few examples

When transcreating consumer communications for the U.S. Hispanic market, the first step is to determine whether the campaign or creative concept could even be made relevant and effective for U.S. Hispanic consumers, and if so, what parts of the material should be translated and what needs to be transcreated or re-concepted and re-written. In rare cases, brands may decide to reposition and even rebrand based on their segmentation and targeting strategies.

Patient and consumer education materials may include topics and categories unfamiliar to some multicultural consumers—especially those in immigrant communities, where we may face challenges such as deeply rooted beliefs, values, and attitudes. In those cases, to make the material relevant and effective, we may have to expand some sections and even add new ones, as well as explain and sell the category as much as the brand.

An online catalog or a packaging piece may include legal and technical copy that requires an accurate and very succinct translation (there’s never enough room in packaging), and headlines, taglines, subheads, features, benefits, CTAs, and other brand messages that require transcreation and brand-new copywriting.