What is Localisation?

Many professionals make the mistake of using the terms ‘localisation’ and ‘translation’ interchangeably when, in fact, translation is just a small part of the localisation process. Sometimes translation isn’t required at all.

In many countries, it’s perfectly acceptable to do business in English. The real work for the localiser is adapting your message to the target cultures. For instance, did you know that Scandinavians celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December? Information such as this may call for an adjustment in your brand strategy, or open new and unexplored avenues for marketing and advertising. It’s the localiser’s task to identify these opportunities and give you advice on how to proceed.

Why Localise?

Finding staff that can localise is difficult and expensive. Most businesses do not require full-time staff dedicated to localisation and finding a potential member of staff who can fill two roles at once means limiting your candidate pool considerably. The benefit of outsourcing localisation to an agency is that you only spend money when you require the service. This frees up your existing staff to concentrate on priority tasks instead of spending hours upon hours on research.

By hiring an agency to handle the localisation you can rest assured that your message is being processed by experienced staff with intimate knowledge of your audience. Outsourcing localisation to an agency guarantees that your brand strategy will be handled by someone who not only speaks the necessary language but who is familiar with the culture and customs of your target region.