What is transcreation? Definition and meaning
Transcreation is a service that’s halfway between translation and copywriting (and thus creation). In short, it involves the interlinguistic adaptation of advertising and marketing copy. This means rewriting a promotional or advertising text in another language with respect to the original.
Translating is like a journey: there’s a text that’s the point of departure (the source text, written in the language from which you translate) and a point of arrival (the target text, written in the language into which you translate). Advertising is a cultural product, and the culture of a population is intricately tied to its language. In fact, world visions and communication styles are influenced by language structures. Furthermore, the aim of advertising is to elicit a given reaction in its target audience, and copywriting consists of writing advertising and marketing copy that can persuade the public. To be more incisive and memorable, wordplay and cultural references are often used. Often, however, they are not translatable or understandable for people living in other countries, who speak a different language, have a different culture and are familiar with another market. That’s why transposing advertising messages or marketing information from a source language to a target language is more complicated than straight translation.
In an increasingly connected world in which geographical distances are bridged by the internet, companies are also selling outside their domestic market. They chiefly turn to foreign markets and, potentially, the whole world. When a company communicates on an international level, it must satisfy two opposite needs: keeping the meaning and tone of the original message in the different languages, while also advertising in a way that “works” in the target country. Since the aim is to produce copy that is effective for the target culture and market, it’s also beneficial to readapt it completely if faithful transposition cannot achieve this. Let’s look at an example. The Italian payoff for Norton™ AntiVirus, “Boldly Go” and “Go boldly, not blindly”, respectively became “Punta in alto” (aim high) and “Punta in alto senza rischi” (aim high without risks). Both work in the two languages, but they say completely different things: the Italian transcreation of the message is a complete rewriting of the original. The process that led me to developing the Italian version is explained in detail here.
Whenever there are advertising and marketing messages to be used in different countries, transcreation enters into the picture. Here’s my own personal definition of transcreation, from the academic paper “Transcreation as Creation of a New Original: a Norton™ Case Study”: “writing advertising or marketing copy for a specific market, starting from copy written in a source language, as if the target text had been originated in the target language and culture”.
Read my latest articles about transcreation.
Transcreation or translation?
Let’s set the record straight: transcreation is not a synonym for translation, nor for creative translation. First of all, any translation is creative work per se, regardless of whether it involves advertising copy or a sales contract. Secondly, transcreation is an entirely different service from translation and it requires four different skills:
Language skills: like any translator worth their salt, the transcreation professional grasps all the nuances of meaning in the original advertising or marketing copy.
Copywriting skills: like any good copywriter, the transcreation professional is able to write persuasively and can rework the original copy – sometimes completely differently – in the most effective way for the target language and culture, offering numerous creative options and illustrating the reasons behind each suggestion. Naturally, all of this respects the client’s brief.
Cultural sensitivity: like a cultural anthropologist, the transcreation professional is a keen observer with profound knowledge of the target culture, and can thus draw on it for transcreation. Therefore, it’s essential for the professional to live in the target country, in order to have everyday contact with the local culture.
Local market understanding: like the most seasoned marketer, the transcreation professional knows the market scenario in which clients and their competitors work. This means avoiding creative paths previously travelled by the competition, in order to produce copy that fully captures the uniqueness of the client’s brand. This is another reason that it’s fundamental for the professional to live in the target country.
Transcreation from English and German to Italian
Dropinka® is Claudia Benetello. It’s not an agency, but an independent professional. Each assignment is personally carried out by me, and I offer transcreation services from English and German to Italian.
Where is transcreation used?
Whenever you have advertising or marketing copy (in other words, a text that is clearly intended to persuade your audience) to translate from one language to another, you need transcreation, not a creative translation.
A few examples?
- Taglines
- TV commercials
- Radio commercials
- Print ads
- Out-of-home
- Brochures
- Flyers
- Web content
- Social-media posts
As a transcreation specialist, I pretty much cover all industries:
- Audio
- Automotive
- Chemicals
- Consumer electronics
- Consumer goods
- Corporate consulting
- Cosmetics and beauty products
- Fashion
- Finance
- Food & beverage
- Ho.Re.Ca.
- IT
- Luxury goods
- Pharmaceuticals
- Tourism
Claudia Benetello, transcreation expert
I’m a communications specialist based in Milan, and have been in the business since 2005. As a transcreation specialist, I help Italian and international companies and communication agencies adapt advertising and marketing copy from English and German to Italian. Drawing on my expertise and sensitivity, I can establish if a relatively faithful transposition of the source text will be effective in Italian or if the message must be reworked.
When you work with me, you can count on my full professional consultancy:
Cultural and naming consultation: assessing the appropriateness of a message, copy, visual and/or brand name for the Italian market.
Transcreation: adaptation of the advertising or marketing copy from English or German to Italian, providing several creative proposals based on the brief you provide.
Voice casting: for radio and TV commercials, selection of the best speakers for the job.
Voiceover direction: for radio and TV commercials, direction and coordination of the speakers at the recording studio.
Why choose me for transcreation?
- Flexibility: I cater to your every need, thanks to experience dealing with a wide variety of advertising and marketing copy, and an array of industries.
- No intermediaries: Dropinka® is not a communications agency but an independent professional who personally handles every transcreation project. This means you’ll save time and money for a service that’s been crafted with love and meticulous attention to detail to fit you like a glove.
- Experience: I have almost 20 years of experience and a long list of satisfied customers.
- Excellent training: I combine solid mastery of foreign languages with outstanding copywriting skills. I hold the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (the top certificate for English) and the Goethe-Zertifikat C2: Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (the top certificate for German), and have a specialist Master’s in Copywriting and Advertising Communication from Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM in Milan, which includes coursework at the prestigious Miami Ad School.
Transcreation presenter and trainer
I’ve been giving presentations and seminars on transcreation since 2012 – in Italy and abroad. Watch the video to see me in action.
Want to improve your skills? Read more about my transcreation courses.
Seeing is believing.
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So take a look at some of my transcreation projects, published in compliance with the non-disclosure agreements in force.
Wondering if you can trust me?
Here are some testimonials about my transcreation services.
Many years ago, Claudia was very probably the first translator to hand me her “transcreator” business card, and I was more than interested to hear her talk of how she had transcreated the Norton AntiVirus software tagline for the Italian market. Since then I have constantly followed her presentations, talks and publications. Both her content and style convinced me that she perfectly encompassed “the added value” of a competent and creative professional translator. So, I was very fortunate that between her real work she also took the time out to write an excellent article on “the translator plus” for my own peer-reviewed journal Cultus in 2021, where she talks of her own experience adding value to translation and to interpreting. In 2022, at a roundtable we were both involved in, she introduced herself as a communications all-rounder – which is exactly what she is, and still with an unparalleled passion for improving communication.
David Katan
Claudia’s attention to detail, rich linguistic knowledge, and impeccable communication style make her a joy to work with! Having worked together on numerous production rounds, I am constantly delighted by Claudia’s skill, empathy, and work philosophy. I can unreservedly recommend her as a partner for any communications project.
Ieva Dobilaitė
Claudia is an excellent professional and was a great help to our agency in helping to transcreate content for an Italian client. She also provided us with invaluable assistance in helping us encounter the correct cultural context for much of the dialogue and situations in our proposal. I would definitely recommend her services!
Alex Katz
Claudia is an outstanding translator and copy writer. Having had the pleasure to work together across several projects in the past few years, Claudia has always delivered impeccable work, with a professional and friendly attitude. Her attention to detail, coupled with an intuitive sense makes her the perfect partner for even the most complex jobs, where a certain amount of coordination is required across different parties.
Valeria Borgia
BBT SE is the European Public Limited Company in charge of building the Brenner Base Tunnel, a key element of the Trans-European Transport Network. Because we are an international, cross-border company, we have an in-house translation and interpreting department. Towards the end of 2022, we asked Claudia to hold a transcreation course for us, focusing on German into Italian. This was no small challenge, because our translation work has very little in common with glitz and marketing; it’s all about technology and engineering. Claudia did a fantastic job, using materials that were clearly carefully chosen and highly relevant to what we do, with an excellent balance between theory and practical work. Claudia is an exceptionally well-prepared professional and we will certainly work with her again.
Lisa Marie Terzariol
I had the chance to experience Claudia’s professionalism, creativity and warmth during a series of webinars on transcreation that she held in collaboration with the Swiss Association of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters (ASTTI). The lessons were carefully prepared, and she provided a range of specially created materials in advance. They were very interactive and she made sure that the technology was in place so we could connect with each other and share our work. I found the deep dive into Claudia’s past work for big brands particularly interesting. A very worthwhile course, which has already yielded results!
Livia Marazzi
Claudia’s Transcreation Workshop was incredibly inspiring and very comprehensive. She is a good speaker and her presentation was dynamic and engaging. Claudia highlighted relevant aspects of what we aim to do at FARFETCH and we were pleased to have the possibility to further discuss this topic with her during the Q&A session.
Ute Klöpper
Following our company’s rebranding, we hired Claudia to collaborate on the transcreation of our corporate brochures. It wasn’t just about translating the copy, but also making it culturally relevant for the intended audience – all the while respecting our corporate identity. Well, she did an excellent job in accurately reflecting our identity, both on a linguistic and conceptual level. We consider Claudia to be a very valuable partner who we will trust with our future projects as well.
Barbara Perazzolo
I very much appreciate working with Claudia, who's precise, reliable and trustworthy, which means a lot to me. I warmly recommend her.
Alexandra Sabato
In December 2015 Claudia held a seminar on two afternoons for the Italian-speaking group of Coop’s Language Service at the headquarters in Basel (Switzerland). The course was divided into two phases, one that was theoretical and analytical and the other practical, about translating and writing advertising slogans. We appreciated Claudia for her excellent speaking skills, her professionalism in addressing the various topics and the passion she puts into her work. I am very grateful to Claudia for this valuable opportunity to meet and exchange ideas, which enriched our group.
Valeria Mazziari Randazzo
Claudia is a seasoned professional who is very creative, but she also has all the theoretical tools essential for copywriting and transcreation.
I attended one of her workshops, which was extremely interesting and useful, but I also had the chance to work with her on a copywriting project (a national radio campaign for a luxury cosmetics brand). Claudia was able to interpret the client’s brief, which was changed several times during the project, and offer various proposals within the established timeframe.
Needless to say, the campaign was a success.
Mariapaola Dell’Orto
How much does it cost?
Every transcreation project is unique. Contact me for a customised quotation, with no obligation.Have a project you’d like to discuss