The globalization of the economy and increased trade are forcing companies to communicate with consumers of different languages and cultures. Within international translation and marketing strategies, advertising plays a fundamental role. In this context, we are faced with a dilemma that can be summed up in this question: how can we sell a homogeneous product to both domestic and international consumers?
The localization of international advertising campaigns is to adapt the communication strategy of the company to the peculiarities of the specific context of the countries which are targeted by the campaign. This specific context can be divided into different components that must pay special attention the translator / localizer:
- The sociocultural component, which includes the specific features of the religion, customs, social and commercial habits and ethical and behavioral standards. In short, this component is related to the main characteristics of society and the target culture.
- The legal and political component, which includes the peculiarities arising from the nature of the political system, the degree of openness to the world, restrictions on advertising and regulation on information and on certain products (such as alcohol and snuff).
The location of the advertising campaigns is to adapt the communication strategy of the company according to these parameters. Obviously, the relevance and influence of these parameters vary across countries and regions, but ignore them would mean certainly the failure of the campaign.
Thus, beyond its role of language translator in the strict sense, the translator must ensure that they take into account the socio-cultural constraints, which can cause problems in the transmission of advertising. In the context of multilingual communication in this era of globalization, it is because of to appreciate the cultural differences between the countries to which the same advertising campaign is directed.
Therefore it is important that the translators assigned to a translation project for marketing have a high knowledge of the country they will be directed the product and pay particular attention to the use of vocabulary. The slightest mistake cultural interference can cause serious complications and confusion that could result in the failure of a costly advertising campaign.