A case study in translation challenges and considerations in branding and marketing

Abstract

The impact of technology disruptions, growing urbanization and the rise of Asia have re-defined the consumer, businesses and competitions around the world. Nations are under constant pressure to drive economic growth and to define themselves beyond a name on the map. Many are embarking on place marketing strategies to position themselves as the ideal place for investment and trade, an exciting destination to visit and an inspiring place to live in. And in today’s highly globalized world, the translation of such narratives is becoming increasingly important. It is imperative that marketers view nation branding and marketing and its corresponding translation as two sides of the same coin, giving the latter due focus and considerations. This dissertation aims to examine the translation challenges and considerations in branding and marketing, using translations of Singapore’s destination branding and destination marketing as the case study. The analysis of the case study highlighted five key areas of challenges and considerations; the marginalization of the translator in the marketing workflow, the demand for bilingual capabilities and bi-cultural background, the importance of balancing localization and nationalism, the need to go beyond translation with transcreation, and lastly the possibility of re-inventing the role of translators.