What does your company provide? Who are you selling to? What value or benefits do your products or services offer? What do you stand for? What is your mission in your market?

These are the questions that should be ultimately answered by your brand positioning. In order to truly own a place in your market(s), you need to be clear on who you are, what you have to offer and what value you aim to deliver for your target audience. This underpins the reasons why people should buy from and believe in your brand.

This is often encapsulated in your brand strapline and mission statement, the core narratives underpinning your brand position and working to establish your credibility.

However, this central part of your brand can be lost in international markets. How you describe yourself and position your brand can be perceived very differently in different markets – and so your message may even have to change.

1) Recognising the competition

Your brand will undoubtedly find itself up against players in different international markets. While your brand positioning may stand up in your domestic market, it may not fare as well or be deemed too similar to other competitors in international markets.

Therefore, with a simple translation of your strapline, your key messaging won’t achieve the same level of cut-through.

It is important to evaluate how your brand positioning fares in each of the international markets you are selling to, and tweaking the messaging, not just the translations, to ensure you can maintain the same credibility you enjoy in your domestic market, in foreign markets.

2) Losing the desired impact

While your straplines and messaging may be strong and memorable, this impact can be lost in translation. In translating your key messaging into foreign languages, the end outcome is key. Your translations should preserve the essence of your core messaging so that you truly are getting the same message across in foreign markets.

This is where machine translations ultimately fall down, focusing on translating “words” rather than the “desired meaning”. When translating brand messaging into foreign languages, your objective must be clear – preserve the essence of the message we are trying to get across not the specific words we are using.

3) Adhering to cultures and behaviours

Claiming to be “leaders” or “experts” in some markets can help to cement the impression of being a top player. This type of positioning and messaging can have varying impressions in international markets however where it may be seen as arrogant or boastful and actually result in a negative impact of how your brand is perceived.

It’s one thing to lose impact when translating your core brand messaging; it’s another to position your brand in a way that may be perceived negatively.

Preserving the perception of who you are in a position and where you play in the market is integral to success in international markets. If you are truly going to achieve consistency in how your brand is perceived worldwide, you need to consider not just translating the words, but the essence of your message. That’s where human translation will always prevail. After all, it’s not about what we say, but ultimately, how we say it.

Localizing Your Brand Positioning

Localizing your brand positioning is a crucial step in effectively entering international markets. It involves adapting your brand message, positioning, and communication strategies to resonate with the target audience in different cultural and linguistic contexts. Here are some key considerations for localizing your brand positioning:

Understand the Local Culture: Gain a deep understanding of the local culture, values, beliefs, and consumer behavior in the target market. This will help you identify how your brand can connect with the local audience on a more personal and relevant level.
Conduct Market Research: Conduct thorough market research to gather insights about the local market, competitors, and target audience. This will enable you to identify gaps, opportunities, and unique selling points that can differentiate your brand in the local context.
Adapt Brand Messaging: Translate your brand strapline, taglines, and key messages into the local language while ensuring they convey the intended meaning and evoke the desired emotions. It may be necessary to rephrase or reposition certain messages to align with the cultural nuances and language conventions of the target market.
Consider Brand Name and Logo: Evaluate the appropriateness of your brand name and logo in the local market. Sometimes, literal translations or certain visual elements may not resonate well or could have unintended meanings. Adapt them, if necessary, to ensure they are culturally appropriate and appealing to the local audience.
Tailor Visual and Creative Elements: Consider adapting visual elements such as colors, imagery, and graphics to align with local preferences and cultural symbolism. What works well in one market may not have the same impact in another, so customization is essential.
Emphasize Local Relevance and Benefits: Highlight how your brand and products/services cater to the specific needs, preferences, and aspirations of the local market. Showcase how your offerings provide value and address the unique challenges faced by the target audience.
Leverage Local Influencers and Partnerships: Collaborate with local influencers, brand ambassadors, or partners who have a strong presence and credibility in the target market. Their endorsement can enhance the local perception of your brand and help build trust and credibility.
Be Sensitive to Cultural Nuances: Avoid using language, imagery, or symbols that could be culturally insensitive or offensive in the local market. Cultural nuances play a significant role in shaping perceptions, so adapt your messaging to respect local customs, traditions, and sensitivities.
Test and Refine: Conduct market testing and gather feedback from the local audience to assess the effectiveness of your localized brand positioning. Continuously refine your approach based on the insights and feedback received.

Remember, effective brand localization goes beyond mere translation. It requires a deep understanding of the target market, thoughtful adaptation of messaging and visual elements, and a commitment to building genuine connections with the local audience.

At Sylaba we deliver NAATI certified translation services into 65+ languages. Spanish, Hindi, Arabic and Greek are some of the top languages that we translate.

Do you want to learn more about what goes into a successful translation project? Perhaps you are considering having a Spanish-speaking friend of a friend do the translations for you. Check out our blog to learn more about translation!

You can also learn more about how right-to-left scripts work in languages like Arabic, Farsi or Dari.

Other articles that you might find useful:

What Goes into a Successful Translation Project

Business Document Translation: The Importance of Glossaries