Never assume.
Has the global idea gone through local market opt-in process? Should there be a creative and cultural consultation step before the adaptation commences?
It’s not always easy to decide if the content should require translation or transcreation.
Every client potentially also has a different definition of each service. (Read further here.)
The lines are blurred and sometimes there are budget limitations or tight timeline to consider.
This should be considered from the very beginning of the engagement with the client. It is also important to agree on client’s expectations and more practically, the budget.
One approach is to curate three levels of services, each serving the right kind of work.
The rule of thumb is technical and legal document and any internal communications can be achieved by translation and any professional translators will be able to do the job well. For some highly technical documents or legal work, specialised translators will be needed.
Any content that are consumer facing, part of a creative campaign or executed in innovative media (new media, site-specific media), will require a more creative considerations in the adaptation. Creative copywriters who are experienced in thinking conceptually therefore are more suitable.
A builder does not offer the same level of service with an interior decorator or an interior designer.
A moving company won’t be able to see what a relocation consultant can.
Translation, transcreation and creative adaptation requires different process and talent.
Approach it by combining the use of translation (on technical content) and creative adaptation (on conceptual content) within one project to optimise speed and costs.
I call it smart adaptation.
Content with the deepest and most complex level of expressions and meaning will require the more creative approaches. In a mapping exercise I have created, I have made use of the different layers of the manifestation of culture to illustrate this.
Transcreationism 