How Can AI Translation Improve Marketing Content Effectiveness?

Brands’ marketing and advertising content need to resonate with its audience to be effective. That’s a challenge when their campaigns span various languages and cultures, budgets and resources are tight, and there are an overwhelming number of options to consider spanning transcreation, human translation, computer-assisted translation (CAT), and AI translation.

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) translation advancements have provided time and cost efficiencies for brands entering new markets. What’s often missing, however, is an entry strategy that blends technology with people and processes. This blended approach delivers content that rings clear across regions and borders - something AI translation can support when deployed correctly.

How AI translation fits within a localisation strategy

AI translation is translating content from one language to another without human input. AI translation works by continually improving language knowledge by gleaning insight from large amounts of textual data, much like a human’s brain neural networks.

Localisation is a content adaptation that addresses cultural nuances, enabling content to resonate better with target audiences. For example, product marketing may vary across state or county lines - and possibly neighbourhoods - even though the target audience may speak the same language.

Many creatives view AI translation as being 'at odds' with localisation since the latter deals with human emotion and perception. However, when paired strategically with human efforts, AI-assisted technology is a valuable tool in a brand’s localisation toolbelt, and it can be the right solution when applied in the right scenario.

To use AI translation effectively, brands need a strong localisation team that supports with developing a strategy to determine where certain aspects of a campaign should fall on the sliding scale of language services.

Three tiers of language services

Localisation experts can identify when and how to activate the correct tier of service, supported by the appropriate technology and people for a specific workstream or asset. There are three tiers to consider when developing a localisation strategy:

Tier 1: Human transcreation of brands’ most creative assets by in-market copywriters

Transcreation involves reimagining the core idea to achieve maximum resonance and appear natural in a specific market by blending copywriting with translation, linguistics, and anthropology. Think of the classic Nike slogan, 'Just Do It.' If translated directly, this line can have a wide range of meanings; it must be transcreated differently for every market and language.

Tier 2: Computer-assisted translation (CAT) with a human translator

Computer-assisted translation blends people and machine by storing human-translated content in a 'translation memory.' The new copy is viewed against this database of existing copy, and the computer automatically identifies repetitive content. This automation allows translators to focus on adapting new material, avoiding repetitive translation, and decreasing cycle time. Additionally, brands can store ultra-creative campaign headlines and taglines within a glossary to ensure consistency across transcreation and translation workstreams.

Tier 3: AI translation with or without human 'post edit' or proofreading

Not all assets require the same level of human touch. And there are certain assets that brands may want to have a fully automated, AI translation solution. This approach can provide considerable cost savings, and when paired with a brand’s translation memory, can have impressive results. To further enhance the quality of AI translation, brand-dedicated linguists can support with a human 'post edit.'

For best results, start early

It’s crucial to prioritise localisation in the origination stage of a project. By integrating localisation teams early in campaign development, brands can create primary assets that require less rework when translating and transcreating. This upstream localisation includes everything from consultation on copy to vetting the asset’s design which includes images, fonts, and spacing. This allows breathability for text expansion and contraction across languages.

Ultimately, better primary assets increase the opportunity for automation, resulting in faster localisation. And these days, localisation needs to move at the pace of origination.

Leverage technology throughout the process

AI translation works best within a larger tech stack that unifies and optimises the localisation process. Tag’s Di Translate, a portal within the end-to-end marketing execution platform, Digital Interact (Di), acts as a brand’s gateway to both AI and human-driven translation processes into more than 120 languages. Tag has integrated AI translation with Di Translate to support marketing effectiveness and speed, which provides the right solution for direct adaptation workstreams and acts as a strong complement to human-driven transcreation solutions.

As an example: Before partnering with Tag for language services in 2019, SmileDirectClub (SDC) had used machine translation exclusively. Then, Tag applied the three-tiered model, building a foundational glossary for the brand. This included:

• Transcreating ultra-creative assets, like taglines and television commercials
• Automating lower-risk assets, like print, social, and email through the power of AI Translation
• Providing cultural consultation for new creative to improve the potential for future localisation and promote strong asset reuse.

This strategic blend of AI and consultative processes not only improved translation quality, but reduced language spending by up to 58% and led to 35% faster approval times. And according to SDC’s VP of Creative, the technology’s language memory 'kind of feels like magic.'

Embedding localisation within a tech-enabled creative production workflow allows efficiencies that greatly improve quality, mitigate duplication of effort, and reduce costs through thoughtful automation. And in today’s fast-paced market, those factors can make or break brands’ campaigns.

Tag works with brands to create and deliver impactful content at speed and scale. From creative production and activation to strategic sourcing and delivery, analytics, and subject matter expertise, we transcend digital and physical touchpoints to allow brand content and concepts to travel globally and connect locally, through flexible, tech-enabled solutions.

Want to know more about Tag’s Language Services through its Marketing Centres of Excellence? We’re always on! Send us a line here.