Business experts, as well as academics, have come to recognise a global phenomenon that has emerged from the scourge of the pandemic and its similarly odious sibling, the current economic downturn – and that is, the opportunity to collaborate and innovate.
Measuring the ROI for investing in translations might prove slightly trickier than other conventional costs, as the metrics may not be as easily available. This is all the more confounding in the hospitality and travel business. What kind of formulas are there to help gauge how much more bang you are getting for every buck you invest in getting your website translated into Korean, or your menus into Japanese?
A colleague sitting across you at the office sips languidly at her coffee while staring at her computer screen. You notice the white print glaring against the black background of her mug as she chugs away absently and giggle to yourself. 'I am silently judging your grammar', it says. You chuckle because you can relate. As a branding executive, you know that when it comes to reaching out to your audience, even the tiny details count.
It is a well-established fact that successful global marketing and the localisation of marketing and branding collaterals in hospitality and tourism require more than just a normal translation into local languages. Transcreation (creative translation), a far more superior option, takes into consideration the nuances of local languages and creatively delivers content to readers in their mother tongues. When words are imbued with more than just literal meaning, the result is effective engagement that draws consumers into the world of your establishment effortlessly.
Ni hao? Namasté! Mingalabar! Kamusta! Hola! Ciao! Hospitality is everything about making someone feel welcome and nothing does that better than greeting them in their own language. Not only does it immediately put one at ease, it goes beyond the whistles and bells of gorgeous interior decor and fancy fittings. It is the very fundamental spirit and soul of what hospitality is all about. An audacious claim?
The coronavirus pandemic has hit us - and it’s hit us hard. Some businesses are struggling to stay afloat while others are on the verge of throwing in the towel and calling it quits. In the hurly-burly of this pandemic and the lives that it has cost, one may ask, where is that sliver of hope for the hospitality, tourism and travel industry?
Consumer research has shown that 75% of customers will only buy in their own language. So, if you only have an English language website, you’re missing out on generating revenue from a large number of potential customers who do not speak English. This, coupled with competition that grows fiercer with each season and the constant effort to attract new customers from a wider reach, might be a good reason to take a serious look at getting the professionals in to help you with your website translations.
In the travel and hospitality industry, you know that your business would do better if you accommodated your overseas guests with not just your website but also signages and menus in the preferred languages of your target audiences and markets. All you need now is to get that translation done. Sounds simple enough, right? Except that the next decision you need to make is how you’re going to do it in a way that preserves the integrity of meaning in the source language and intent of your collaterals, when it gets translated into the target language. And this is where things can go really, really wrong.
In our last post, we discussed how marketers in Indonesia, Philippines and Japan could avoid localisation fails for their marketing campaigns. From making inappropriate jokes with sexual innuendos to ignoring the importance of social norms, there are many hidden cultural norms that brands need to know to have successful marketing campaigns in these countries. From failed advertisements to useful tips for brands when planning their global campaigns, we asked our local experts to share stories that go beyond generic advice. In this post, we expand these stories to other countries, from Korea to Thailand and China.
The knowledge that consumers turn to mobile and online search engines to find information on potential purchases mean that brands are constantly running fresh advertising campaigns to attract consumers. Many of these countries don’t share the same primary language and local culture, requiring localisation in terms of processes, products, and marketing content. With this being said, there are many “dos and don’ts” that marketers should be aware of before starting their campaigns.