Transcreation is a multi-functional term not found in traditional dictionaries. This explains the multiple definitions of this term used by translation professionals. Depending on the perspective and expertise of the person interpreting the meaning of the term transcreation and its usage, its definition may vary to include one or more of the following ideas:

• To an advertising professional, it means converting a message into another language without losing its intended core meaning.
• To a translator, it means factual translation followed by copywriting.
• To a corporate communications expert, it means translating content and emotions from one language to another without the content being perceived as an outright translation.
• To a technical documentation manager, it means translating technical content accurately, ensuring proper localization of terms and format.

To Word Class, the term transcreation is an integral part of our proven multilingual quality delivery process: translation starts with understanding the source text whereas transcreation starts with understanding the client’s creative brief. This implies close collaboration between our linguistic teams and our clients and their communications partners.

At Word Class, every aspect of our multilingual delivery is defined according to a framework of uncompromising transcreation quality standards:

• Level 1 standards are applied to all deliveries to ensure that translated content is natural, readable and understandable to native speakers of the target language.
• Level 2 standards are applied to printed and digital content deliverables developed for use in general corporate communications.
• Level 3 standards are applied to deliverables covering content developed for use in sales and marketing materials.

In addition to the three basic levels described above, Word Class provides a special level of transcreation service that ensures a thorough transformation from source to target language, focusing on content, language and style, choice of preferred terms, graphics and layout, and corporate wording. Also known as creative translation, transcreation is aimed at engaging end customers directly, conveying the emotions and corporate attributes of the source language in the target language. For example, when we translate corporate and marketing content for luxury brands, we make sure that we stay consistent with the global product’s brand identity and that the wording we choose appeals to the local target audience. Customer insights vary from one location to another. In the digital era, this means conveying a unified multi-channel experience with locally adapted, engaging content.