Having an eye for marketing is not enough when a business is translating documents, there must be something more, perhaps a formal training in the field with qualifications, that can facilitate the expression of a message in another language and retain its punchiness and intended market. One of the great problems however is translating puns or culturally specific aspects, which ultimately, will need to be discussed with the translation company. Being able to discuss this will be of vital importance since a translation company should not be so out of reach that it seems like a process that can’t be changed when initiated.
Communication is obviously the key issue here but it extends between being able to contact the translation services and the translation itself. Many marketing departments employ particular software encoded in particular formats that they will have to pass on to the translation services in order directly. A company that can support such industry software as QuarkXpress, InDesign, Pagemaker, Publisher, Photoshop and Illustrator will be able to alter any text so that it looks as professional as the client’s own output. The greater the list of supported software, the better, in this instance.
On top of this there are also specific types of marketing media that all have different requirements of the text placed on the page. Not to mention the obligatory cultural sensitivity, these must carry the brand of the client in question and express themselves through the medium adequately. Advertising, brochures, fliers, websites, straplines, press releases, consumer trends, marketing strategy and consumer demographics all may need insightful translation that is understood not only by the client and customer, but also by the translator. A comprehensive understanding of the intended audience will also benefit a great deal, since the process is futile if these people don’t exist in the first place!