It is easy to think, why pay a translation company to translate my document or advertisement when I can get free automated translation? For starters, automated translation is entirely unreliable, and cannot accurately translate a document in any language. Even a single sentence can be translated into a linguistic mess with any kind of automated translation. Even if you manage to get most of the content translated, no automated system can provide marketing localization service.
One of the key aspects for accurate marketing translation is localization. A professional translation service like Tomedes not only translates the words of an advertisement or website, but translators localize the content to ensure that it is appropriate for the target language and culture. Moral codes, common practices, dialects - among many other cultural factors - affect the accuracy of a translation just as much as the actual translated words. Anyone preparing translation of a marketing and advertising campaign for a foreign market should always use a professional translation company. The reputation of the business depends upon it.
Mistranslations are guaranteed to occur when little or no effort (i.e. automated translation) is made to accurately translate any sort of content or message for a foreign audience. Whether it is software translation, website translation, or even a simple advertising translation of a slogan, if it is mistranslated or inappropriate, obviously this paints a very negative picture of not only the marketing department, but the whole business.
Still not convinced you need professional language translation for something like a simple Spanish advertisement translation? The "Got Milk?" campaign people weren't either. Their simple two-word slogan turned into "Are you lactating?" when they ignored proper translation services. General Motors took their slogan to South America, and translated it to "No va," which means, "It doesn't go" - probably not the message they intended. Yet another large business, the brewing company Coors, translated their slogan "Turn it loose" into Spanish as well; except the Spanish translation was "Suffer from diarrhea." I highly doubt that's what they meant by turning it loose.
These examples clearly illustrate why localized translation is so necessary. Anyone who knows a bit of Spanish can translate a few words or a simple phrase. The problem is, the words themselves may literally mean one thing, but used for another meaning within the culture. There are many phrases and words we use to mean something other than its literal meaning, and the same goes for any other language.
If localization is needed for Spanish translation, then something like Chinese advertising translation or Hindi translation demands it even more. Pepsi has made a mess of more than one advertisement. In the 90's they aired a Pepsi commercial in India featuring a young boy serving Pepsi to soccer team players. The commercial resulted in a lawsuit by a civil court in India, on the grounds that it glorified child labor. Consulting a professional localization service could have prevented this.
Obviously not learning from this mistake, they later attempted Chinese translation of another slogan, "Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation." Their translation said, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave." Pepsi wasn't the only one, though. KFC also had major problems when they attempted Chinese translation of the slogan, "Finger lickin' good," which actually translated into "Eat your fingers off."
There are many other examples of global businesses and corporations making fools of themselves by ignoring the help of professional translation services like Tomedes. Clearly it is foolish not to use professional translators, even for a single sentence. Investing the low translation cost and the effort will pay off when you acquire the web traffic, sales, revenue, and other returns by opening your doors to a foreign market using professional communication with your audience.
Ofer Tirosh is the manager of the leading professional translation service, http://www.tomedes.com. Tomedes is trusted worldwide by governments and organizations for quality Spanish translation services and translation in over 100 languages of legal, financial and other fields
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