Italian to English transcreation: rocket fuel for your international ad copy
Are you running an international ad campaign? Then you’ll know how vital first impressions are.
Whether your campaign involves out-of-home media, television spots, or Google Ads, your Italian copywriter or marketing team will have spent many hours perfecting the message, tone, and content.
Those headlines, straplines, and body copy go through many iterations before you find the one.
You could be launching an English version of your website. Your Italian website includes sales pages carefully designed to get results. Your email nurture sequence for the Italian market is busy converting leads.
Perhaps you’re launching a new product. Your PR team has prepared a series of press releases that are perfect – for the Italian press.
Or maybe your packaging reflects your brand’s playful tone of voice.
The list goes on. As marketing professionals, we know how much work goes into getting even just one line of copy just right.
It’s no different when you then need to communicate with audiences in another language.
And that’s why transcreation is a more effective solution for ad copy than translation.
What is transcreation?
Transcreation is rocket fuel for your international ad campaign. More effective than translation, more culturally sensitive than copywriting, it’s a unique blend of both.
Translation turns one language into another, respecting the style and content of the original.
Copywriting is writing that sells.
Transcreation takes inspiration from the Italian copy but is not a faithful replica. The aim of transcreation is to captivate English-speaking readers and motivate them to take action.
Content, style, or copywriting techniques may need to change. Sometimes considerably. Creative wordplay or cultural references may not have the same impact outside Italy. The transcreator may need to adapt the tone of voice to achieve the right emotional response.
At every stage of the transcreation process, the transcreator will ask themselves whether the copy meets the brief and the needs of the English-speaking market. These skills take time to develop and fall closer to the remit of a copywriter.
I draw on my translation and copywriting skills, as well as my experience in the advertising world, to recraft Italian copy so that it resonates with English-speaking audiences.
My past Italian to English transcreation projects include websites, TV ads, whimsical wine labels, fashion press releases.
Read more about the difference between translation and transcreation here.
How does the transcreation process work?
When you work with me, I approach the project in the same way as a copywriting project:
Step 1
We’ll agree on a brief in English or Italian. Unlike most English copywriters, I can work with the brief you agreed with your Italian copywriter. Even better if I can work with them directly.
Step 2
I’ll review the Italian copy. Expect some questions from me to make sure I’ve interpreted everything correctly. I’ll then start thinking about how to transform it into compelling copy for the English-speaking market.
Step 3
You’ll receive the first draft of the project. I’ll include comments to guide you and explain my thinking behind each major change. For headlines and straplines, I’ll come up with three suggestions. Two rounds of revisions later, and the copy is yours.
Some projects involve a mix of transcreation and translation. A website for a tractor company might need to transcreate its persuasive sales pages and engaging About page. The product specs and safety information will need an accurate and faithful translation.
My Italian to English transcreation services
Each project is unique, so I offer bespoke packages based on my clients’ individual needs.