Marketing translation and transcreation in over 225 languages — by creative specialists with marketing training or sector experience

Transcreation is a creative recreation that preserves the intent, style, tone and emotional impact of the original. A standard translation translates the words; transcreation translates the effect. The word 'transcreation' is a contraction of 'translation' and 'creation'. For an advert, slogan or brand-launch text a literal translation is often ineffective because humour, wordplay or emotional connotations do not transfer one-to-one between languages. Transcreation rewrites the text in the target language while preserving the original idea, sometimes with an entirely different formulation. Example: Haribo's slogan 'Kids and grown-ups love it so / The happy world of Haribo' is reformulated per market while keeping the same light, joyful tone.

Choose transcreation for ad copy, slogans, brand-launch content and hero sections; choose standard marketing translation for product descriptions, B2B white papers and informative content where accuracy matters more than emotional impact. Rule of thumb: the higher the creative load of the text (humour, wordplay, emotional appeals, brand personality), the more transcreation pays off. The more factual and informative the text (specifications, white papers, B2B content), the more standard marketing translation suffices. For cornerstone web pages and e-commerce product pages, multilingual SEO localisation is often the right choice because keyword research is then in scope. We advise per project which tier fits. Transcreation is typically 3-4x the rate of standard translation across the industry.

We provide a targeted quote per project, confirmed in writing in advance, with no surprises after delivery. Pricing for transcreation depends on: (a) the language pair (common pairs such as EN↔FR are typically more efficient than rare pairs), (b) the creative load of the text (a slogan needs more iterations than a product description), (c) the number of variants (one version or A/B-tested copy), and (d) the requested turnaround. Industry benchmarks place transcreation around $0.25-1.00+ per word OR $75-250 per hour, and 3-4x the rate of standard translation. We quote per project and discuss in advance which tier fits your objective, with the rush deadline confirmed in the quote.

Yes. For brand clients we document a glossary and style guide per brand, and we respect existing brand-voice guidelines you provide. At intake we discuss your brand voice, audience, cultural context, preferred register (formal/informal per market) and any forbidden phrases. The glossary builds up across projects and stays consistent for your brand. Our CAT tools (SDL Trados, memoQ) record terminology so the same word choices recur across multiple campaigns and languages, and we can share glossaries via your own TMS on request.

Yes. Multilingual SEO localisation is our third service tier, with keyword research per market, local SEO conventions and technical optimisation. A literally translated SEO text rarely works because search behaviour differs between markets (English searchers use different terms from German or French searchers). We combine keyword research per market with locale-aware copywriting for cornerstone pages, product pages and blog content across over 225 languages. A dedicated service page for deeper multilingual SEO strategy is in preparation for 2026; contact us now for project-based engagements.

We use CAT tools (SDL Trados, memoQ) for terminology consistency and glossaries, but the creative translation itself, particularly transcreation, is produced by a human specialist; pure machine translation lacks brand emotion and register. The combination of glossary plus human creative review delivers technology-led consistency for terminology AND human judgement on tone, register, cultural fit and emotional impact. For lower-creative content (product descriptions in a standardised catalogue) we can offer an AI-supported workflow with human post-editing. AI translations are always reviewed by a human specialist.

We work with native specialists per market; the translator knows not only the language but also the cultural conventions, humour traditions and visual connotations of the target audience. Cultural adaptation is a core competence of transcreation. An advert that works in the UK can feel too direct in Germany or too formal in the Netherlands. Our specialists assess not only the text but also the cultural fit: colour symbolism, humour style, formality level, time references and local conventions. For markets where we have less direct experience, we collaborate with regional sector specialists. As a European agency with six locales and 10,000+ linguists in our network, we have native networks across the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Yes. For high-volume e-commerce projects we run batch workflows with glossary and CAT tools, delivering multiple languages in parallel without loss of brand consistency. A typical e-commerce project covers product catalogues of 500-50,000 SKUs in parallel EN↔FR+DE+ES (European launch) or EN↔Chinese+Japanese for Asian cross-border markets. We coordinate via a single project manager + shared glossary + style guide per brand. For recurring product launches a client-specific translation memory can reduce price over time. Turnaround depends on SKU count and language count. We confirm this in the quote, with response within 30 minutes during business hours for inbound enquiries.