Transcreation brief: Why is it important + what to include

Oftentimes, creative messages need more than just translation to reach your audience in a new language successfully. Idioms, cultural differences and puns mean that word-by-word translation cannot keep the original meaning and achieve the same impact. This is where transcreation comes into play – a creative process that adapts content while preserving its intent and message.

Since transcreators do not only translate – but recreate the message in a new language – they need to consider the objective of the message, the target audience or the concept description to provide the best results possible. Therefore, a key component of successful transcreation is a comprehensive transcreation brief. 

This blog post will explain why a transcreation brief is important and what information it should contain to help language experts understand the original message better and recreate it in a new language.

What is a transcreation brief, and why is it important? 

A transcreation brief is a document that usually contains the linguistic and business needs of a particular message and a brand, a product or a campaign. Normally, it is put together between a client and a language expert, and the transcreator uses it before starting to work on a project to understand all the important specifics that need to be considered.   

The importance of a transcreation brief lies in the fact that the message or slogan that needs to be adapted was created with very specific ideas and purposes in mind: it may form part of an international marketing campaign created for a specific product, developed by a creative team and brought to life by a skilled copywriter. Therefore, a trancreator needs access to this information to recreate the message in a new language in the best possible way. 

Looking for inspiration to take your business global? Check out these real-world examples of transcreation to learn from them!

What information should you include in a transcreation brief? 

Objectives 

Outline the goals of your transcreation project. Would you like to increase brand awareness or drive sales? Are you conveying a specific emotion? Is this a new project or part of a bigger marketing campaign? Clear objectives provide language experts with the direction they need to fulfil the objective in the new message. 

Target audience 

Provide information about your audience, including their demographics, education level and interests. Define your buyer’s persona as clearly as possible. This helps the transcreators adapt the content in a way that resonates deeply with the intended audience.

Tone of voice 

Describe the desired tone of voice for the content. Is it formal or casual? Funny or serious? Having tone of voice guidelines is key to keeping your communications consistent in different languages. 

Brand information 

Provide insights into your brand’s personality, values, and unique selling points: who you are, what makes you different and what you have to offer. This helps transcreators align the new content with your brand’s identity, creating a consistent global image.

Product information 

Offer a comprehensive description of the product or service you are promoting. This helps transcreators understand better the key features and benefits and allows them to highlight them accordingly in the new copy.

Concept description 

Explain the idea behind the original content. For example, what play-on-words are you using and why? Understanding the essence of the message allows the transcreator to think if there is a way to convey the idea in the target language and culture.

Cultural considerations

Last but not least, highlight any cultural nuances, idioms, or references that may need to be adapted for the target audience. For example, if your meal kit delivery service is “bringing the WOW factor to your Friday nights”, explain what the “WOW factor” is to ensure your transcreator understands it. 

Transcreation made easy

Transcreation effectively bridges linguistic and cultural gaps, enabling your message to resonate across borders. But the success of transcreation depends greatly on the clarity and depth of your transcreation brief. 

By including essential information such as objectives, target audience, tone of voice, and cultural considerations, you provide language experts with the tools they need to recreate your content for a new market or region. 

At Ampere, our transcreation experts work with you to adapt your message to any language. From online adverts to marketing brochures, we can support your transcreation needs. Get in touch today!