Category Archives: Translation

Some companies have given up on Spanish for the US

Posted on by

I’ve been revisiting a number of the websites that at one point were localized specifically for Spanish speakers in the US.

And now I’m finding dead links.

Home Depot had a site located at homedepotespanol.com and Lowe’s had one at www.lowes.com/spanish. Both of those sites are now gone. Both companies do maintain site specific to Mexico, which makes the absence of US Spanish websites even more curious.

UPDATE: Joe Kutchera noted that Lowe’s has NOT abandoned their Spanish site; but they did change URLs and failed to redirect the old address. The new address is http://es.lowes.com.

The pet food company Iams once hosted a localized site at www.iams.com/es_US. That links is now dead as well and I can’t find any replacement.

Visit WalgreensEspanol.com and you’ll see this message:

Which more or less says: Welcome to Walgreens; this site has been deactivated. Good luck with that.

Fortunately, there are still numerous websites out there that do offer Spanish for the US, such as FedEx and Holiday Inn.

I’m not suggesting that there is a larger trend of companies abandoning the US Spanish-speaking market. If anything, the trend points towards greater investment; I’ve spoken with numerous companies this year who are planning their initial US Spanish sites in 2012. And there are many websites out there that have for years supported Spanish for the US, ranging from FedEx to Holiday Inn.

Nevertheless, some companies appear to have abandoned their US Spanish efforts, at least on the web. And this is unfortunate, not just because of the wasted resources but for fact that they will no doubt be launching US Spanish sites again some day. Any company that is serious about the US consumer market simply cannot afford to ignore this audience.

And there is a lesson here as well. Although most companies that launch localized web sites rarely retreat, some do. To avoid this fate, it’s important to have clear, measurable goals for your localized sites. Don’t just do it because everyone else is doing it. Always assume that there is someone within your company who would love to slash your budget in favor of some other initiative (as there probably is someone). I often say that localization is a journey without end. But sometimes these journeys do end, at least temporarily.

Without web localization, you’re just guessing

Posted on by

An interesting article by Alexandra Berzon of the WSJ regarding Hilton and Starwood hotels, which are offering menus and services tailored to Chinese travelers. This quote jumped out at me:

After Starwood executives noticed an enormous recent jump in the number of Chinese subscribing to Starwood’s loyalty program, a team led by Matt Gaghen, Starwood’s vice president of brand management, spent the last year researching the Chinese market and discovered that language and food were two of the most important issues for Chinese travelers.

In order for Starwood to notice the sudden increase in Chinese subscribers, it needed to first have a localized Chinese web site — and sign-up form. Fortunately, Starwood launched its Chinese-language web site a little more than two years ago.

I mention this because Starwood could have only collected valid user data AFTER it offered a localized web site.

Web localization isn’t just about direct sales. It’s about lead generation. And it’s about learning what your customers — and future customers  – want.

Without a localized web site, you’re just guessing.

Starwood and Hilton aren’t the only hotel properties to have invested in Chinese web localization. Accor Hotels (which also supports Chinese) won the hotels category in the 2011 Report Card.

PS: I’ll have more to report on hotels (and airlines) and web localization in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned!

 

Consistency vs. creativity: In signage, in terminology, in life

Posted on by

What’s wrong with this sign?

It seems to work just fine as far as I can tell. Whenever I see this sign in a store window, I know exactly what it means. And even those signs that dismiss with the first two words also work perfectly well.

And yet, for some retailers, this simple, affordable, ubiquitous sign, isn’t good enough.

There is a force at work within us humans, that darned creativity. This urge to take something as ordinary as a sign and reinvent it. Despite all the benefits of consistency, sometimes creativity gets in the way.

I witnessed this firsthand when I visited Bend, Oregon recently and encountered two “Closed” signs that are not quite so ubiquitous.

Like this one:

And this one:

The “Nope” sign is a clever anagram of “Open.” I’ve seen this in a handful of boutique windows, though it’s still far from common.

Here are two retailers who could have purchased a simple sign at Home Depot for a few dollars but chose instead to get fancy. To get creative.

And this, in a nutshell, is why terminology management is a never-ending (perhaps Sisyphean) challenge for translation executives.

Creative people, like copywriters and designers, often enjoy breaking the rules. They like to reinvent. They like to tweak.

But translation costs go up when rules are broken, when terminology is reinvented or tweaked.

Unless there is some regulatory body involved that mandates consistency, expect creativity to rear its head from time to time.

This isn’t a bad thing. The tension is healthy, if not necessary. Consistency actually can fuel creativity — by inspiring creatives to invent better designs, slogans, signage. And creativity is needed to ensure that your company’s text and visuals — and signage — truly reflect your brand. That’s one reason why I’m always on the lookout for creative global gateways.

Consistency and creativity are like the yin and yang of business. The key is in finding the right balance between the two.