The Word Gym Ltd.

You've done all the hard work - the brochure's been written, the direct mailer's ready to go, you've fine-tuned your list of prospects. Now all you want is a straight translation of your creative copy... or do you?

How often we hear it: "It's okay, our copywriters have done all the creative stuff - you just need to translate it." As if translating carefully crafted creative copy were simply a matter of pulling foreign-language equivalents out of a translator's magic hat.

Unfortunately, there isn't a magic hat. Translating creative copy can be as demanding as writing it in the first place, because turns of phrase, wordplay, tone of voice and all the associated resonances have to be reproduced in a different language for a different target market.

These differences have to be taken seriously, otherwise there's a real danger that you won't just make a poor impression on your target audience - you'll succeed in damaging your own or your customer's brand.

If your copy is going to work well in another language - and just as importantly, in another culture - then additional creative input is needed. The good news is that we have nearly 20 years of experience of transforming creative copy into effective foreign-language copy.

What's more, we'll be straight with you: we'll advise you when your marketing material needs some serious creative input, and when a simple technical translation will do. Typically, marketing material consists of a mix of persuasive copy and matter-of-fact technical specifications. And we're masters of both.

Do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in few.

Pythagoras