But this is easier said than done. Many marketers ask themselves: How can we create personalised content on a global scale? Should we just translate one message into hundreds of languages?

The short answer is no. Translation is not enough. Instead, localisation 鈥� defined as the adaptation of content to a specific market 鈥� is the process that should lie at the core of every global marketing campaign if the content is to be diverse enough to address different values, lifestyles and ethnicities.

Why translation alone isn’t enough for global marketing

Many marketers still treat translation as an afterthought, simply converting words without considering how those words land in a new cultural context. Global audiences are both multilingual and multicultural, and localisation takes the next step, ensuring your message resonates authentically with different values, lifestyles and expectations.

Culture shapes how people interpret messaging, and translation alone can’t bridge that gap. For example, some cultures communicate through subtext or a shared understanding, while others like to be more direct. Even between countries that share similar cultures and languages, like in the Nordic region, you can find notable cultural differences. Read more about this topic in

Localisation goes beyond speaking the right language and helps you understand your audience鈥檚 mindset so that your message doesn鈥檛 just get heard, but actually sticks.

Advantages of localisation in global marketing

By prioritising localisation from the get-go, marketers ensure the following:

• Cultural authenticity: When localisation is considered from day one, you can create content that feels genuinely native to each market.
• Consistent brand voice: Early planning ensures that your brand personality, although tweaked linguistically and culturally, still resonates in a consistent way across all markets.
• Faster market entry: Campaigns can launch simultaneously across markets rather than in staggered rollouts, waiting for translations to go live.
• Time and cost efficiency: Starting with localisation in mind means you won鈥檛 need to go back and redesign campaigns that don鈥檛 translate well across cultures.
• Growth: Localisation can expand your brand reach and awareness, as well as offer a SEO boost.
• Connections: You can more effectively build personal connections with users and consumers because it gives your brand the human touch and shows respect for local cultures and values.
• Increased profits: If you do it right, localisation can form part of a successful organic growth strategy. If you don鈥檛, it could come at a significant cost to your business.

Choose the right localisation strategy for your global marketing content

Of course, not every message needs the same level of localisation. That鈥檚 where a tailored strategy comes into play.

To find a localisation strategy that best fits your goals and expectations, you first need to assess the level of impact of your different content pieces. Is it brand-critical content, such as a slogan, or is it lower-impact content, such as reviews for an online platform?

Understanding that different types of content may require different strategies can save you time and help your language service provider allocate efforts properly. The graphic below can serve as an initial guide to think about where you might want to start, but you can always get in touch with us for more personalised advice.

Localisation services for global marketing, explained

Market-specific copywriting

We鈥檝e talked about personalisation, so we know how crucial it is. Sometimes, the best way to ensure that this content can truly match a particular target audience is to create region- or country-specific campaigns to convey messages that are culturally and contextually appropriate.

Transcreation

Literal translations can sometimes cause misunderstandings and lead to considerable loss of meaning. Content should be transcreated instead, taking tone and style into account, having consideration for the design, the surrounding images and the broader context.

Full human translation

This is what you might call the traditional approach to content localisation. A human translator takes a text in one language and translates it into another, adding colloquial expressions and idioms, where appropriate, so the text reads like it was written in the target language. However, this doesn鈥檛 take into account cultural references and norms, and the meaning of images and symbols.

Machine translation post-editing

Some content, such as slang and idiomatic language, is not compatible with machine translation because of how culturally specific and ultimately human it is. However, when localising low-impact content, machine translation can be used in conjunction with human post-editing for a good and affordable option.

Multilingual SEO

There is more to SEO than simply translating keywords! Keyword localisation acknowledges the fact that the keywords that are popular in one region can be completely different in another. SEO needs to be tailored to each particular market.

The language solutions partnership process

While adding another stakeholder to your workflow may seem daunting, partnering with a language solutions provider that prioritises clear communication, seamless integration and mutual trust mitigates risks while delivering significant benefits to your marketing team.

Here鈥檚 a quick look into our process here at Sandberg:

• Strategic planning and onboarding

Our partnership begins with comprehensive onboarding outlining project requirements, costs, timelines and quality expectations. Strategic planning meetings assess longer-term needs, including expansion plans and peak work periods.

• Gathering project materials

Key client information is shared with project managers and linguists, including brand guidelines, style guides and terminology glossaries. Together, we’ll craft a detailed brief, containing specific brand and content information, with templates provided to streamline the process.

• Linguistic work with technology

Your content passes through multiple review stages by different linguists, ensuring accuracy and ISO standard compliance. Modern language technology, including translation memories and term bases, guarantees consistency. This may include AI and machine translation, followed by human review.

• Independent review

Project managers or validators conduct final content reviews before delivery, ensuring alignment with reference materials. Your dedicated point(s) of contact handle issues promptly, with quick response times to maintain project momentum.

• Communication and feedback

Open communication extends beyond individual projects through structured feedback stages, enabling continuous improvement. We鈥檒l arrange annual business reviews to ensure there are clear communication channels for sharing ideas and feedback.

As you can see, the process is well-organised and can easily be tailored to your specific needs. For a more detailed explanation, read our article: /maximise-global-marketing/.

Make localisation a business priority

In an increasingly connected world where consumers expect authentic, culturally relevant experiences, localisation is a business imperative. Brands that invest in comprehensive localisation strategies from the outset can transform them into something that resonates deeply with diverse audiences across the globe.

The shift from translation to localisation represents more than just a change in terminology; it’s a fundamental reimagining of how brands connect with their customers. By embracing cultural authenticity, maintaining a consistent brand voice and leveraging the right mix of localisation services, from market-specific copywriting to multilingual SEO, companies can turn what might otherwise be seen as an afterthought or annoying extra cost into a powerful driver of growth and engagement.

Success in global marketing no longer favours those who speak the loudest, but rather those who speak meaningfully to each individual market. The brands that recognise this truth and build localisation into their processes from day one are the ones that thrive in our multicultural, interconnected marketplace.

At the moment, consumers have endless choices, and the brands that win are those that make every customer feel like the message was crafted specifically for them.

Ready to stand out from the crowd and start truly connecting with global audiences?

Explore our marketing solutions here.

Part of this article was initially published in 2019 by Gonzalo Fernandez, a former Sandberg team member, and has since been edited and revised with up-to-date information and new analysis.

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For the globally with vision impairments and the who have disabilities, these changes represent long-overdue progress. For businesses, they represent both a compliance challenge and a competitive opportunity.

We’ve created a comprehensive e-book, “Web Accessibility Standards in the UK and EU: What Businesses Need to Know”, to help you navigate these web accessibility changes in 2025 with confidence.

What you’ll discover in our free e-book

New requirements that affect your business

The EAA represents one of the most comprehensive accessibility initiatives globally, with requirements affecting both public and private organisations across all EU member states. Unlike previous regulations that primarily targeted public sector bodies, the EAA explicitly includes private businesses, particularly those providing services to the public.

Key regulatory changes include:

• WCAG 2.1 AA standards are becoming the recommended compliance level across EU member states
• Expanded coverage to private sector organisations, including e-commerce platforms
• Elimination of size exemptions 鈥� small and medium enterprises must also ensure digital accessibility
• Clear enforcement mechanisms with varying approaches from warnings to substantial financial penalties

Who must comply?

While larger enterprises may face more comprehensive requirements, SMEs must also ensure their digital properties meet accessibility standards. If you’re serving the public, regardless of your company size, compliance is likely required.

High-risk sectors include:

• E-commerce companies: 77% of US ADA website accessibility lawsuits targeted e-commerce sites
• Financial services: Secure transaction processes must maintain both security and accessibility standards
• Healthcare and life sciences: Medical information must be accessible to users with various disabilities
• Technology companies: User interfaces and documentation present complex accessibility challenges

The cost of non-compliance

The consequences extend far beyond potential fines. Website accessibility lawsuits are growing, with legal precedent increasingly favouring users who encounter accessibility barriers.

Beyond legal risks, non-compliance creates:

• Brand reputation damage: In an era where inclusion matters to consumers, accessibility failures significantly impact brand image
• Lost revenue opportunities: People with disabilities represent 20% of website visitors with substantial purchasing power
• Competitive disadvantage: Search engines like Google incorporate accessibility factors into ranking algorithms
• Recruitment challenges: Top talent increasingly seeks employers who demonstrate a commitment to inclusion

Technical requirements made simple

Our e-book breaks down the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standards into actionable requirements organised around four fundamental principles, known as POUR:

• Perceivable: Information must be presentable in ways all users can perceive
• Operable: User interfaces must be operable by all users, including keyboard navigation
• Understandable: Information and interface operation must be clear and predictable
• Robust: Content must work reliably with assistive technologies

Mobile and multilingual accessibility challenges

As mobile usage continues growing, mobile accessibility becomes increasingly critical, and our e-book covers the mobile accessibility considerations organisations may want to take into account. For businesses operating internationally, we address the complex intersection of multilingual content and accessibility requirements.

How Sandberg bridges the language-accessibility gap

At Sandberg, we understand that accessibility and language access are interconnected challenges. Businesses operating in multiple countries must ensure content is accessible not just technically, but linguistically accessible to diverse user populations.

This includes understanding the cultural nuance of accessibility and inclusive language. Read more about this topic in our article about communicating inclusivity in the Nordic languages. Since you can鈥檛 realistically be an expert in all the languages your users speak, a provider like Sandberg can help you build a diverse, loyal audience.

Our solutions

• Transcription Services
• Video Subtitling
• Voiceovers
• Multilingual SEO
• PDF Remediation

Why the integrated approach matters

Organisations that recognise the connections between accessibility, internationalisation and user experience often find their accessibility investments provide multiple returns, including improved SEO performance, higher customer satisfaction and even greater growth in global markets.

Start today: Download your free guide

Don’t wait to start your accessibility journey. The businesses that begin now will have significant advantages: more time for thorough testing, user feedback integration, staff training and sustainable implementation that evolves with changing requirements.

Download your free copy of “Web Accessibility Standards in the UK and EU: What Businesses Need to Know” and discover:

• Step-by-step implementation strategies that work
• Cost-effective approaches to compliance
• Industry-specific considerations
• How to turn accessibility into a competitive advantage
• Resources for ongoing compliance monitoring

Ready to make your digital presence truly inclusive? Contact Sandberg today to discuss how our language solutions can help your business thrive in the new regulatory landscape.

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Creating the most effective Christmas promotion ideas means knowing your audience thoroughly and capturing the essence of local traditions and celebrations. This article explores several examples of successful Christmas campaigns that were localised for specific audiences, including key factors that businesses should consider when planning their Christmas advertising campaigns.

Understanding the tradition, understanding the market听

In order to reach different regions effectively at Christmastime, brands must understand the faith and folklore often tied to cultural Christmas traditions. For example, in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it鈥檚 traditional to leave a bowl of porridge out on the evenings of December 23rd or 24th for the nisse or tomte 鈥� a small, gnome-like fellow who protects homes but can be mischievous if he doesn鈥檛 get his porridge. In Finland, the nisse is known as a tonttu, but is not as integral to contemporary Christmas traditions as in Denmark and Norway. And in Iceland, locals can expect a visit from the j贸lasveinar (or the 鈥榊ule lads鈥� in English), a troublesome group of trolls that deliver presents to children the 13 nights before Christmas.

However, further south in Germany and Austria, another creature roams the cold and long evenings: a sinister aide to St Nicholas 鈥� a half-goat, half-demon who punishes badly behaved children 鈥� the Krampus. These tales are grist for the mill for brands looking to engage with their target audiences and as shows, even the terrifying Krampus is no exception.

The geography of Christmas marketing campaigns

From Tampa to Tokyo, Christmas has become an international shopping affair, with brands big and small spending months preparing for the launch of their Christmas marketing campaigns. Every year, supermarkets such as , and release their Christmas advertising campaigns, refining each one to resonate with their local audience by depicting local traditions.

One example of a successful seasonal campaign in the UK is the John Lewis Christmas advertisement. Anticipated annually, this slow-building and emotional campaign is a cinematic experience which never fails to tug on our heartstrings and remind the viewer about the coming together of friends, families and even strangers at Christmastime (often via the perfect gift!). In the UK, Christmas marketing campaigns are served to us in the warm colours of a fireplace, where through the frosted window we see the twinkle of tinsel or a crowded dining table, creaking under the weight of the roasted veg, fowl and game.

Yet, if we trade the pheasant for fish, this seasonal scene may represent an Eastern European Christmas, as countries such as Slovakia, Czechia and Poland as the centrepiece of their Christmas feast. Navigating the nuances of Christmas traditions across Europe can be challenging but brands willing to adapt their imagery, language and tone can resonate better with the preferences of their target audience.

Aldi鈥檚 adaptability in Christmas advertising

While fish and side salads are also customary in Australia, so is a box of beer on the beach. In Aldi鈥檚 Aussie Christmas marketing campaign, they even swapped the dining table for a surfboard to serve the roast ham. As December is the heart of the Australian summer, that are fully acclimatised to the sun Down Under, rather than the snow often depicted in advertisements for the UK or the Nordic region.

From their to Santa shredding the surf in Australia, brands like Aldi have proven they know how to speak personally to their customers, wherever they are in the world. Although discounts and promotions are attractive, adaptability is key to businesses that want to grow and show they understand their audience.

A Kentucky Christmas

In the 1970s, a by a bearded gentleman in a suit 鈥� the famous bowtie-wearing colonel of the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise (KFC). Launching its 鈥淜entucky for Christmas鈥� advertisement before the festivities in 1974, KFC鈥檚 campaign was so successful that their seasonal Party Barrel is now a yuletide feast for millions in Japan every year. Focused on sales over the spiritual, Christmas is a commercial event rather than a religious one in Japan and big brands are keen to capitalise on this.

But Japan isn鈥檛 the only country in Asia to celebrate Christmas; countries like India, China, South Korea and the Philippines also take part in the festivities. With such populous countries like India and China in this region, even a small percentage of the population can equate to tens of millions of people that businesses want to reach.

3 secrets to the best Christmas marketing campaigns

For those who pitch their product right, Christmas can offer a great opportunity to reach consumers, who tend to be more receptive to advertisements while actively looking for gifts for their friends and family. So, what鈥檚 the secret to the best Christmas marketing campaigns?

1. Effective research 鈥� Language barriers and cultural mistrust can pose challenges for brands when reaching their new and existing target markets. Failing to resonate with your target audience is an easy way to show you haven鈥檛 done enough research.
2. Connecting with your audience 鈥� In a digital era dominated by social media, consumers expect brands to speak directly to them. Combining an authentic voice and reflecting local values when engaging with them on familiar social platforms can be the perfect Christmas recipe for success.
3. Employing experts 鈥� Utilising the skills of marketing and linguistic experts will help refine your brand鈥檚 voice by localising your product in a familiar context to your target audience.

Authenticity in the age of AI

As these localised campaigns show, authenticity is integral if you want to connect with audiences, especially around this very personal time of year. Nothing proves this more than the typical success of Spotify鈥檚 annual 鈥淪potify Wrapped鈥�, a personalised presentation of the user鈥檚 most listened-to content from the past year.

However, when brands fail to connect authentically, marketing campaigns can flop, like . As the crimson Coca-Cola trucks roll onto our screens this festive season, the magic feels far from the real thing. The advertisement depicts a familiar landscape of snow and sparkling Christmas lights; however, on closer inspection, some characters appear to have six fingers on one hand and the wheels turning in the snow are out of sync. These obvious imperfections have left Coca-Cola sliding into public backlash. Released at the beginning of December, Spotify’s 2024 Wrapped campaign has also faced due to its integration of AI, leaving users less than impressed.

Although businesses are eager to implement new tech into their workflows, it鈥檚 clear a balance is still required. The kickback against Coca-Cola鈥檚 advertisement and Spotify’s 2024 use of AI indicates that consumers still value authenticity, making localisation a top priority for any brand wanting good publicity at Christmastime.

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However, the reality of implementing Generative AI is far more complex and fraught with challenges than it appears on the surface. It isn鈥檛 a perfect tool and can produce inaccurate or skewed content that then gets fed back to AI, leading to a phenomenon called 鈥渕odel collapse鈥�. This article will explore the weaknesses of AI-powered solutions in multilingual communication and consider why scrutiny and critique are crucial to ensure proper implementation of this technology.

McDonald鈥檚 failed experiment

The global fast-food giant McDonald鈥檚 attempted to automate its drive-through ordering process using AI, aiming to streamline operations and enhance customer experience. But the . The AI systems struggled to understand accents, dialects and even background noise, leading to a frustrating experience for customers. In video, two friends can be seen laughing as the technology mistakenly orders over 200 Chicken McNuggets for them.听

However, it鈥檚 not as simple as just casting AI-powered products aside because of such errors. The pressure to scale up quickly using this technology is very real and have had significant success with using AI for their drive-throughs, including Wendy鈥檚 and Panda Express. There鈥檚 no doubt that McDonald鈥檚 will explore other AI avenues in the future.听

Yet this cautionary tale reminds us that we are still in the early days of AI-enhanced solutions. If McDonald鈥檚 couldn鈥檛 make AI work reliably for something as basic as ordering a hamburger, how can we expect AI to flawlessly handle the complexities of our businesses鈥� multilingual content? Try to ignore the hype and remain professional when you consider content creation that requires a deep understanding of context, nuance and cultural sensitivity 鈥� areas where GenAI often struggles.

AI and translation

This brings us to the topic of content generation and translation, one of the most promising yet challenging applications of AI. Advanced language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT have allowed businesses to streamline their content creation processes, generating marketing copy, reports, summaries, social media posts and even complex articles with the click of a button. AI-driven translation tools have been promoted to companies looking for quick, accurate translations that can be deployed across multiple channels simultaneously.

However, AI is not infallible when it comes to understanding the subtleties and intricacies of human language. While AI can produce grammatically correct texts, it struggles with idiomatic expressions, cultural references and the context-specific meanings that are crucial for effective communication.

Getting multilingual content wrong due to AI mistakes leads to individual instances of misunderstandings, not dissimilar to what happened with McDonald鈥檚. But what happens when our content becomes so widely produced by AI that the incorrect results get fed back into the source and training materials, perpetuating and even worsening already grave cultural bias or linguistic mistakes?

What is model collapse?

One of the emerging challenges in the realm of AI is a phenomenon known as 鈥�. This occurs when AI models are trained on data that includes AI-generated content, leading to a degradation in the quality of the output. They start to reinforce their own errors, amplifying mistakes and generating content that lacks originality, coherence or meaning.听听

Model collapse is not just a danger to the quality of AI-generated content; it poses a broader risk to the entire ecosystem of AI development. As more and more content on the internet is generated by AI, there is a growing concern that the training data used by these models will become increasingly tainted, leading to a vicious cycle of declining results. have even coined terms like 鈥淢odel Autophagy Disorder鈥� and 鈥淗absburg AI鈥� to describe this self-destructive cycle, likening it to the way the Habsburg dynasty鈥檚 inbreeding led to the deterioration of their genetic line.听听

This issue extends beyond text to other forms of AI-generated content and is perhaps best illustrated by what happens to images. When AI models are trained on images that were themselves generated by AI, they can start to lose the ability to create realistic or meaningful visuals. The result is a kind of digital inbreeding, where the AI鈥檚 outputs become increasingly detached from reality and less useful for practical applications.

Can AI provide a potential boost to human creativity?

Despite the challenges associated with AI, experts argue that the situation is not as dire as it seems. Human editors can review and refine AI-generated content, correcting errors, adding context and ensuring that the final output meets the desired quality standards. This hybrid approach, combining AI鈥檚 speed with human expertise, mitigates many of the risks associated with model collapse.听听

Furthermore, many believe that the rise of AI-generated content will actually increase the value of human-created content. As more content becomes automated, the unique qualities of human creativity 鈥� originality, emotional depth and cultural nuance 鈥� will become even more valuable. If AI is employed to create the bulk of the multilingual content, human translators and editors will be needed to check, refine and perfect the output, ensuring it resonates with audiences in different cultural contexts.

Integrating AI into your multilingual communication strategy听

So, how should you be using GenAI?听 Implementing AI in content creation requires your teams to learn how to write prompts, set benchmarks for what good looks like, assess the output, consult reliable technology partners and have a clear strategy that actually saves time rather than just shifting the cost from one part of the content generation process to another. Without these, what was initially expected to be an advantage could quickly turn into a disaster, leading to operational mishaps, loss of customer trust and significant financial losses.听听

With the right approach 鈥� one that leverages AI鈥檚 strengths while acknowledging its limitations 鈥� you can use AI-powered tools to enhance your multilingual communication efforts. It鈥檚 interesting to examine where you save time and where you lose it, because whichever way you choose to generate your multilingual content, it must be quality controlled by a rigorous human review process.听

If you do choose to implement GenAI in your organisation, talk to our language experts here at Sandberg and make them a part of your solution through post-editing services and quality assurance checks, ensuring that your content is accurate, culturally appropriate and effective in conveying the intended message.听

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One way to make your audiences feel welcome and appreciated is to communicate inclusivity through language. Staying on top of what honours the humanity of each person that interacts with your content is not just about being politically correct 鈥� it鈥檚 about showing respect for individual differences, cultures and experiences.

However, if your content spans multiple languages, it鈥檚 hard to remain an expert in all of them. That鈥檚 where we at Sandberg can help. In this article, we discuss two of the most common inclusivity conundrums and share examples of solutions for them in English and the Nordic languages.

Gender and pronouns

Did you know that the non-binary pronoun they was Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year in 2019 because of the significant increase in its lookups? It鈥檚 a plural pronoun that has doubled as a singular pronoun for more than 700 years. Writers including William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Geoffrey Chaucer all used the singular they in their work.

In the English language, there are many other invented gender-neutral pronouns today; ze, hir, E, per, xi, ip, thon, heesh, co, um and le, and some of them are older than you might think. But only they is used by everyone who speaks English, the others are used by a relatively small number of people and only in some contexts. In the English-speaking world, seeing pronouns listed in various places, such as a person鈥檚 email signature or social media profile, and the use of they as a singular pronoun, has become increasingly common.

Language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or social gender can certainly have an impact both in terms of gender neutrality and gender fluidity. All Nordic languages are working towards gender-neutral job titles, e.g. politibetjent 鈥榩olice officer鈥� instead of politimand 鈥榩oliceman鈥� in Danish, or 别蝉颈丑别苍办颈濒枚 鈥榮upervisor鈥� instead of esimies 鈥榝oreman鈥� in Finnish. In Norway, there was even a great debate on whether jordmor 鈥榤idwife鈥� should be changed, but it was eventually left untouched.

The Danish, Swedish and Norwegian languages all have gendered pronouns for the third person singular. In Sweden, the official dictionary was updated in 2015 to include a third, gender-neutral pronoun. The new pronoun hen was added alongside han 鈥榟e鈥� and hon 鈥榮he’ to refer to those of unknown gender or where gender is deemed irrelevant.

A neutral third-person singular pronoun hen or 丑酶苍 was also introduced into Danish, but how well it鈥檚 been adopted is difficult to say. It鈥檚 not yet in the Danish dictionary nor is it acknowledged as a pronoun by the Danish language advisory Dansk Sprogn忙vn. Offence may be taken, however, if you don’t write gender-neutrally. If using the new pronoun feels artificial, you can write han/hun 鈥榟e/she鈥� or use the word vedkommende which is gender-neutral, but sometimes difficult to incorporate into a sentence. Simply using personen ‘the person’ is also an option.

Norwegian takes a similar approach to Danish 鈥� the use of 鈥榟e/she鈥� has been common, as has vedkommende in formal communication. The new neutral pronoun is hen. The national language authority Spr氓kr氓det recommends using hen for those who wish to be referred to as such but adds that it鈥檚 not yet widespread enough for them to recommend it beyond this purpose. However, even the national broadcaster NRK has started using it sporadically.

In Finnish, none of the personal pronouns are gender specific, so the existing gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun 丑盲苍 continues to be appropriate in modern usage.

If you are in charge of content creation in the Scandinavian languages, your brand style guide should specify whether your brand wishes to use gendered pronouns, the gender-neutral pronoun hen, or any gender-neutral alternatives. The following table is a great resource to help inform your decisions.

Race and ethnicity

References to skin colour and ethnic background tend to be more common in English texts than in the Nordic cultures. In English, you can find extensive instructions on how to refer to a person鈥檚 skin colour; for example, when referring to race, you may capitalise Black but you always write white in lower case. This is because capitalising Black reflects a shared identity and culture rather than a skin colour alone. On the whole, it鈥檚 good to approach such advice with the caveat of it being correct 鈥榝or the time being鈥� because what鈥檚 considered acceptable and respectful changes over time.

In the Nordic countries, people tend to avoid mentioning skin colour or ethnicity if it鈥檚 not specifically relevant in the context. They may understand expressions like POC 鈥榩erson of colour鈥� and BIPOC 鈥楤lack, Indigenous, and People of Colour鈥� that are common in US English, but the concepts of identity behind such terms are not yet widely known in the Nordic culture. This keeps Nordic translators on their toes as they struggle to find and create equivalents that would convey the required meanings of empowerment and solidarity.

If a person鈥檚 background absolutely has to be mentioned, a neutral way might be to refer to a geographical area or region, especially if the person themselves has publicly shared it. Rather than 鈥淗e is Asian,鈥� say 鈥淗e is from Beijing, China鈥� or 鈥淗e was born in Beijing but moved to the UK at the age of 5鈥�. The rule of thumb is to be specific whenever possible, and bear in mind that even when a person has referred to themselves with a certain term, someone else using that term might still come across as offensive.

What does this mean for you?

When you wish to communicate through inclusive language in a language that you don鈥檛 speak, it鈥檚 best to work with an experienced team of linguists. In doing so, you should share brand style guides, tone of voice guides and other resources that make it clear exactly how you want to communicate with your audience so that the linguists can make the best decisions possible when localising your content. If you鈥檙e unsure of the approach to take in the target language, consider consulting with linguistic and cultural experts first to understand how far some of the newly coined expressions have been adopted in different languages and cultures.

It’s good to remember that your choice of words is never just about the person or topic you are writing about. It鈥檚 also revealing about you and the brand you represent. When possible, ask people which pronouns and terms they wish to use about themselves. By showing respect and inclusivity through this process, you can build a more diverse and loyal global audience.

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Content creation is often associated with specific roles within marketing or communications teams. However, the truth is that we all engage with content regularly, whether it鈥檚 writing an email to a supplier, preparing slides for a weekly meeting, crafting an end-of-quarter report or compiling documentation for a tender.

In the following article, we鈥檒l demonstrate how ChatGPT4 can be a valuable ally in producing any type of content, enhancing your productivity and safeguarding sensitive information when handling confidential materials.

Create your own ChatGPT

While you can use the regular version of ChatGPT, the first step towards a serious AI-supported content generation strategy is to create your own ChatGPT 鈥� a customised version of the same system that can be created by any user who has a paid OpenAI account.

Instead of copying and pasting text from each resource you want ChatGPT to consider when generating a response, here you can upload your own files that will make your content more personalised, consistent and in the right tone of voice.

The documents you upload aren鈥檛 shared with anyone outside the system and are used exclusively to assist you with your enquiries. ChatGPT only has access to the files you upload during your session and doesn鈥檛 retain any information once the session ends.

Pro Tip: Although the internet is a vast repository of information, not all relevant content is available online. If you have reference materials in physical form, such as academic papers, books or magazines, consider using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to digitise these documents. This method allows you to seamlessly integrate them into your digital database, enhancing both access and efficiency.

Create a PowerPoint presentation with ChatGPT

Once you鈥檝e configured your own version of ChatGPT, you鈥檒l be ready to put it to use. Let鈥檚 say that you want to use the data and references you鈥檝e integrated to put鈥痶ogether a PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming international conference. The next step involves crafting clear and detailed instructions to ensure that ChatGPT fully understands your objectives. The more context and information you include in your initial instructions, the better the outcome. Here鈥檚 an example of how you might structure your request:

I want my presentation to emphasise the importance of localisation in global marketing campaigns. For this reason, I have included several specific articles that address this topic, as well as another called 鈥淢arketing Myopia鈥� from Harvard Business Review, which I consider an excellent general reference.

Once you鈥檝e selected and uploaded the reference content, the next crucial step is to articulate the prompts you鈥檒l provide to ChatGPT for the task. Don鈥檛 underestimate this stage; it鈥檚 pivotal for a successful outcome. To ensure a high-quality initial response, it鈥檚 essential that you equip the system with ample context and clarity regarding the desired output.

For instance:

I specialise in marketing and localisation, particularly in multilingual content. My objective is to craft a PowerPoint presentation for the 鈥淟anguage Matters 2024鈥� Congress.

I鈥檒l be delving into the significance of localisation in international marketing campaigns. I plan to have 5 slides with the following titles:

• Global marketing campaigns
• Addressing international audiences
• The symbiotic relationship between localisation and marketing
• Strategic approaches to localisation
• Localisation options tailored for global marketers

Please create the slide content as specified above, ready for use. Utilise the attached reference material to craft the content. Ensure captivating titles. Vary the structure of each slide: Classic slides with title and text, bullet lists, tables and other strategies to enhance content visualisation. Each slide should have a maximum of 250 characters. The content should be written in British English. Please avoid lengthy texts.

Once I have my instructions prepared (I recommend always writing them first in a separate file), I copy and paste them into the 鈥淐reate鈥� section of my ChatGPT.

The engine gets to work and produces precisely the type of content I specified. I鈥檝e included some screenshots below of the slides that ChatGPT created.

As we can see, the content generated by ChatGPT in just one minute serves as an excellent foundation for our presentation, although it does have some flaws:

• It produced 7 slides instead of 5.
• The content is rather generic and lacks a personal story.
• The content wasn鈥檛 written in British English.

Once you鈥檝e reached this point, you have two options: you can manually review and edit the content yourself or you can extract parts of the result and ask the AI engine to make changes. Human review is crucial to ensure the authenticity of the content, to insert your personal expertise and to customise it as much as possible to the target audience.

When you鈥檙e happy with the text on the slides and have written your narrative, you will need to design the visuals for the presentation (there are also AI applications for design generation, but that鈥檚 a topic for another time). Once that鈥檚 done, you鈥檙e all set!

Translate a PowerPoint presentation with ChatGPT

The presentation was such a success that you鈥檝e been invited to deliver the same talk at a conference in Denmark. While you鈥檙e fluent in speaking the language 鈥� you speak it better than you write it 鈥� you鈥檙e not equipped to translate the entire presentation on your own. Next, we鈥檒l demonstrate how ChatGPT can significantly aid you in this task.

It鈥檚 quite simple: you just need to organise the final content you used for the presentation and ask the system to translate it.

Like the English presentation, this one will also need a round of human editing and review. Ideally, you should seek assistance from a native Danish speaker who is an expert in marketing. If no one in your company can help, you can always turn to a professional language services provider like Sandberg.

Here is a sample of the post-editing work performed by the specialised Danish team here at Sandberg. We always provide a version with tracked changes, allowing you to easily review the modifications made.

Typically, a post-editing service has different levels, ranging from correcting grammatical errors to adapting the text to make it culturally relevant to the target audience.

As demonstrated throughout this article, artificial intelligence can be a valuable ally in content generation. However, it鈥檚 crucial to acknowledge that these engines don鈥檛 tackle every task flawlessly. To achieve optimal results, it鈥檚 essential to:

• Prepare a database relevant to the topic at hand.
• Craft clear and precise instructions to help the engine grasp the nature of the task.
• Conduct meticulous post-editing to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of our content.

We hope this article has been helpful to you!

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The workflow solution

In marketing, things must move fast to meet deadlines and budgets. If you regularly require multilingual content for yourself or clients, establishing a reliable content creation strategy beforehand is crucial. While you may have in-house colleagues who are multilingual and can help with some translation work, the right language service partner company will add value with efficient workflows that are more cost-effective and mitigate pressure on your in-house team. Collaborating with translation professionals will ensure that you can handle large volumes, produce culturally sensitive and appropriate content and also guarantee consistency across translated materials.

Let鈥檚 look at an example of a marketing agency whose client needs content produced in Danish as well as English. While the agency鈥檚 team has both English and Danish speakers and has plenty of experience in sectors including music and sports, they must now produce content about a women鈥檚 health tech product. Instead of engaging in the time-consuming and costly process of finding a Danish copywriter or freelance translator proficient in medical and technical terminology, they can streamline these efforts by working with an ISO-certified language solutions partner. This strategy not only facilitates meeting quality and deadline commitments but also reduces recruitment efforts and costs, providing a seamless and efficient solution tailored to the agency鈥檚 needs.

Now, imagine the same client then wants to launch their campaigns in other Nordic countries. Rather than hurriedly searching for Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish collaborators, the marketing agency turns to their trusted language solutions partner again. Following the successful launch in the Nordics, the client wants to produce blog content in Swedish on a regular basis. By building a relationship with the language solutions partner, the marketing agency has secured a scalable content strategy that can adapt and evolve as their multilingual projects grow.

How to work with a language solutions partner

You may be hesitant about adding another stakeholder into your workflow and losing control and transparency over the process. However, with a language solutions partner that prioritises clear communication, seamless integration of processes and the development of mutual trust and confidence, these risks are mitigated and the benefits are significant.听

Here at Sandberg, our workflow looks like this:

1. Strategic planning and onboarding听

The first step in creating a partnership is onboarding, which involves outlining project requirements, costs, timelines and quality expectations. As a flexible partner that is comfortable integrating into your workflows, we make the process as easy as possible for you, while mitigating the problems that can occur by transitioning content between companies.听

For a successful long-term collaboration, we emphasise trust, transparency and open communication to achieve mutual success. This first stage often includes a strategic planning meeting to assess your longer-term needs, such as expansion, time-sensitive projects and peak periods of work, ensuring we are prepared to support your goals effectively.听听

听2. Gathering project materials and information听

In the next stage, to make communication easier for all parties involved and streamline the process for our linguists, any key client information must be shared with our project managers and linguists, including brand guidelines, tone of voice and style guides and glossaries of relevant brand terminology. We can also help create these materials if you do not already have them.听

We will then agree to craft a detailed brief that includes specific information related to your content and brand. This is done at the outset of our partnership and if any future project deviates from this or your brand guidelines change, a new brief can be created. We provide easy and simple guidance through this process with our templates, an example of which you can see here:

3. Linguistic work, with or without AI听

The core of the project lies in dealing with the content itself. Sandberg ensures that our work meets the highest standards of accuracy, consistency and effectiveness. Depending on the solution that best suits you, your content will pass through stages of review and proofreading by multiple linguists, ensuring quality and our adherence to ISO standards.听

We also leverage language industry technology, such as translation memories and term bases, to guarantee that translations are consistent and in line with the client鈥檚 own terminology and guidelines. This can include AI and machine translation followed by a stage of human review.听

4. Independent review听

When possible, content is also checked by the project manager before it is returned to the client. This ensures that the final translation aligns with the reference materials provided by the client in the second stage of the workflow.听听

Throughout our collaboration, you will have a dedicated point of contact who you can consult for any issues or questions. Response time from project managers and our linguists is crucial for maintaining project momentum and addressing queries promptly.听听

听5. Communication and feedback听

This open communication extends beyond a single project, as a later feedback stage enables continuous improvement and refinement of translation processes to better align with brand messaging and global marketing objectives. Annual business review calls also keep the line of communication open for feedback and the sharing of new ideas.听

As the collaboration continues, this stage becomes crucial to the improvement of quality, efficiency and communication on both sides. We have all been told that 鈥渜uality means getting it right the first time鈥�, but the truth is that quality can be continuously improved with an ongoing communication loop based on trust and transparency.听

Solutions beyond translation

Although translation services form the core offering of a linguistic service partner, Sandberg鈥檚 range of solutions is much broader, allowing us to enhance client relationships and add significant value to their projects:听

Product name and slogan assessment

For these projects, a literal translation is not always suitable. Therefore, our highly creative linguists strive to replicate the cultural impact of a product name or slogan in the target market. We give you control over the process by offering you several options with back translations, as well as an explanation of the differences between them and the rationale behind our linguists鈥� decisions.听

Multilingual SEO

We have linguists with specialised training in multilingual SEO campaigns. These professionals are proficient in tools such as Google Keyword Planner and are familiar with concepts such as page title, meta description and keyword density.听

Website localisation

Website localisation or translation is essential for companies with global growth strategies. We are experts in localising WordPress sites and have extensive experience using plugins such as WPML and Polylang.

Additionally, we offer a specialised testing service called 鈥淚n-context review鈥�, where our linguists review localised sites on both desktop and mobile devices to ensure that user interfaces are perfectly navigable.

Curation of AI output听

We also provide more accessible content generation solutions, utilising technologies such as machine translation and artificial intelligence. In this case, the original content is pre-processed by the translation engine, followed by revision steps tailored to the quality and accuracy requirements of each client. The post-editing process can range from a simple grammatical review to more complex adjustments, including style, tone of voice and terminological appropriateness.听

Ultimately, in today鈥檚 competitive landscape, efficient workflows are not just a necessity but in actual fact a key differentiator that drives success and profitability. Notably, in one of our partnerships with a marketing agency, our work into Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish for their client resulted in an 85, 64 and 34 per cent increase in revenue, respectively. In our collaboration with a different marketing agency, our ability to communicate efficiently and navigate quick turnaround times while still prioritising quality and accuracy, such as correcting incorrect allergy information, were a highlight for the agency and their client. 听

There鈥檚 no doubt that by having a multilingual content solution in place before the start of a project, digital marketing experts can mitigate the risk of increased project costs or extended timelines without compromising on quality.听

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As a result, the global business community鈥檚 embrace of artificial intelligence technology transitioned from a mere trend to a transformative power. The rapid pace left little room for debating AI鈥檚 utility, propelling us instead towards leveraging its practical applications for substantial business benefits. highlights this shift, noting that 64% of CEOs report continued pressure from investors, creditors and lenders to fast-track the adoption of generative AI.听

This applies to small and medium-sized enterprises as well, even if they may lack a dedicated technology department. One of the groundbreaking characteristics of the new technology is that setting it up doesn鈥檛 require a team of experts. While it鈥檚 true that many businesses don鈥檛 know how to identify strategic machine-learning opportunities or how to turn them into disrupting products or services, the reality is that thousands of people launch AI engines on their computers every day, weaving the technology into tasks that range from drafting emails and compiling reports to translating texts and crafting presentations. The broadest use of the technology to date has been in content creation processes, as content marketers were among the first to go from just playing around with AI to using AI in their daily work.听

Balancing innovation with the human touch

From the outset, the language services industry has been at the forefront of developing multilingual Gen AI solutions that offer:听

• Authoring help听
• Content variation by target audience听
• Tone inconsistency checks听听
• Content classification听
• Term extraction听听
• Language quality assessment听

At Sandberg, we鈥檝e embarked on our own artificial intelligence journey. For our clients鈥� baseline translation needs, our machine translation engines still outperform other language learning model (LLM) options, but the GenAI launch prompted us to investigate AI鈥檚 potential for content creation in our marketing team and for our own internal documentation needs.听

The results to date have been nothing short of spectacular, even though every instance of the content generation process has still required substantial human involvement. Humans play a pivotal role in generating new ideas and seeking out high-quality references for content. And they have a crucial role at the end of the process, refining the machine-generated output, rearranging the text for better coherence and adjusting the language to align with the brand. For us, this final step is nothing new, thanks to our many years of experience in machine translation post-editing.

Without the human touch, maintaining Sandberg鈥檚 unique tone of voice would not have been possible. This is what brings us to our core statement: in the era of artificial intelligence-powered machines, the human element is vital to crafting content, products or services that enrich and redefine human experiences. When almost everything we know will be sourced by our inorganic colleagues, the human element stands as a key value differentiator for brands aiming to connect with their stakeholders at a deeper level.听

Generative human creativity

Let鈥檚 be honest: the cost of human touch and authenticity is prohibitive for many companies. The time-saving benefits offered by AI are undeniable. Yet, the challenge isn鈥檛 in using artificial intelligence; it鈥檚 in identifying each use case and determining the most effective workflows. The indiscriminate application of artificial intelligence in content creation is precisely why our LinkedIn feeds are now saturated with posts that mirror each other. This type of content lacks the unique ability to differentiate or spark interest in a brand.

The capabilities of tools such as ChatGPT, Hey Gen or Copilot are crucial in enhancing the efficiency of documentation, technical writing, legal and marketing teams. But how does a company ensure consistency, maintain specific terminology and preserve the tone of voice in its content when different teams employ different tools? And what happens when the content spans multiple languages? It鈥檚 fundamental that outputs such as corporate reports, marketing campaigns, organisational policies or legal documentation undergo human scrutiny and editing. This human-in-the-loop step upholds the brand鈥檚 consistency and ensures accuracy and adherence to ethical guidelines. This is where Sandberg comes in to offer professional help to businesses that are turning to artificial intelligence to enhance their content creation processes.

Solutions for content creators using AI

The solution we typically recommend to our clients starts with a process where they leverage an AI engine to generate content. Our team then refines the output, employing terminology databases, style guides and any documents containing instructions that offer insights into the target audience, market or the specific stage of the customer journey associated with the content.听

This is a process we鈥檝e seen successfully implemented at numerous companies. To build a seamless workflow, we organise an initial meeting between our team and the client鈥檚 teams. It鈥檚 crucial to discuss the technologies involved, to understand the brand identity and to address all the project management aspects, including reference documents and timelines.听

The process can be applied to any monolingual content the client produces with the help of AI, and the output can then also be translated into further languages.听

Other solutions for companies using AI

Although marketers were among the first to adopt AI, the technology鈥檚 applications extend well beyond content creation. Many companies are now leveraging AI to process data more efficiently.听

One scenario where Sandberg offers customised support involves data annotation solutions, especially when the data is in languages not native to the client鈥檚 organisation. Our team manages the data tagging process to ensure that the client鈥檚 machine learning model can effectively recognise the data.听

Other scenarios in the training of natural language processing models where our expertise has emerged as a critical helping hand for businesses include training AI-powered devices. Such training may require human-produced or human-checked content like voice recordings, video collections, text input or prompt design.听听

Amongst the many challenges around artificial intelligence, the most serious one is that it鈥檚 perceived as a one-push button 鈥� a technology that promises to deliver correct answers reliably while hiding the process that produces them. Or just a swift path to cost reduction via automation.听

To avoid the pitfalls of this approach, it鈥檚 essential to understand that value extends beyond the end product and encompasses the process itself. A 鈥渂lack box鈥� system offers limited control capabilities that significantly hinder essential aspects such as traceability, creativity and ethical judgement. The best verifiable results are achieved when AI is used to augment, rather than replace, the skills and expertise of humans.

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Corporate content challenges in a global landscape

For any global business, having multilingual content is undoubtedly beneficial, but when faced with budget and time constraints, prioritisation becomes fundamental. A deep understanding of your content and its intended audience enables you to tell when creating multilingual versions is critical for your brand鈥檚 success.

For example, the EU Whistleblowing Directive requires public institutions, companies with 50 or more employees and local government authorities with over 10,000 inhabitants to provide reporting channels, information security and anonymity for whistleblowers. While this has implications for many parts of such organisations, it is primarily the responsibility of HR and regulatory compliance departments to enforce and communicate the new rules. They must produce new and updated content to protect whistleblowers, such as a privacy policy for data protection, updates to their anti-retaliation policy and even the parameters of the company鈥檚 whistleblowing channel itself, perhaps including a landing page with a form for reporting. With accessibility as a key requirement of the directive, this must be available in local languages for all countries in which the company operates, and the department would need to translate these documents carefully and accurately.

In the marketing department, on the other hand, content is customer-facing and must consistently be of a high-impact nature. For the organisation鈥檚 website, localisation becomes a crucial tool to broaden the company鈥檚 reach and appeal. The same principle applies to mobile apps, online advertising and email marketing campaigns. The decision to create multilingual content is influenced by factors such as the international scope of the target audience, the chosen platform and the objective of a particular campaign.

There is also content that is relevant to multiple parts of a business, such as a sustainability report, which outlines the company鈥檚 impact on the environment and society. While a sustainability report is typically a voluntary undertaking and not a regulatory requirement, it serves as a platform to communicate the company鈥檚 mission and values to investors, employees and customers. To effectively communicate such insights to a diverse audience, the company may consider offering multilingual versions of the report.

3 ways to decipher your content

Perhaps your role doesn鈥檛 involve HR, marketing or sustainability reporting, and you are wondering: how do I define the purpose and value of my content? Here are three categories that provide a useful lens for analysing the documents you鈥檙e working with: essential to your brand, necessary for regulatory compliance and valuable for insight.听

The first category is content that is integral to your business. This could include annual reports, sustainability reports, websites and product or service information, as well as press releases or media kits. If you sell products through your website and are focused on business expansion, then translating your e-commerce platform becomes crucial. If you rely on digital advertising for sales and revenue, localising this content is one of your top priorities.听

The second category is compliance and applies to content you must translate to comply with local regulations in different countries. It could be internal content, such as your whistleblowing policy or an intellectual property policy. Alternatively, it could be related to your product or service, such as product details, instructions for use or documentation required for specific certifications or standards such as ISO.听听

The third category includes content that is beneficial to have in multiple languages in order to gain or share understanding and insight. Such content could be an internal knowledge base, materials for a tender, survey feedback or online reviews.听

The three categories may of course overlap; an employment contract, for example, is required for regulatory compliance and it鈥檚 also critical to your company and brand. But evaluating your content in this way provides a useful framework for you to understand how each piece fits into a multilingual strategy, helping you better determine not only what you should translate, but also how you should translate it.

Automated solutions with a human in the loop听

How many ways are there to translate a document? Thanks to the advancements in automated solutions, there are a variety of options, each more or less aligned with your specific content needs and resource availability.听

With the advent of AI, particularly ChatGPT, content creation automation has become a hot topic in localisation. There are also more established innovations, like machine translation, that increase productivity and efficiency. But if creating multilingual content is not your core business, how do you know what technology to apply and what quality checks to build into the process?听

This is where your content categories form a key part of your strategy. Here at Sandberg, we have helped many of our clients see that for documentation that is essential to your business or necessary for regulatory compliance, the content localisation process must have a higher degree of human input and quality control. For content that is nice to have for information purposes, you can make do with lower-cost automated solutions.听

Sandberg鈥檚 language services account for differing localisation needs depending on the content types you are working with, including purely human-driven solutions as well as a wide range of automated and machine-led workflows. We take pride in the fact that behind every single solution is our professional team of qualified linguists whose research and work enable us to consistently enhance these services. Their human skill ensures the continuous monitoring and ongoing improvement of our artificial intelligence solutions.听听

We believe that language is a vehicle for human communication and that you need human intelligence to make your multilingual content go far.

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that people prefer to buy in their own language. The Common Sense Advisory published a report in 2014 on how translation affects the online customer experience and E-commerce growth, and concluded that more local-language content throughout the customer experience leads to a greater likelihood of purchase. This motivates global businesses to localise their message for different markets and fuels their collaboration with the language services industry.

But how well do companies in countries where English is not the primary language localise their content for the 330鈥�380 million people who speak English as their first language?

I am not referring to the differences between the variants of English in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, anglophone Canada and South Africa. What I would like to call attention to is content written in English or translated into English by non-native speakers of English.

The concept of 鈥淲orld Englishes鈥� by Professor Braj Kachru illustrates the use of English in today鈥檚 world through three concentric circles: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle.

The Inner Circle represents the traditional historical regions where English is used as a primary language: the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, anglophone Canada and South Africa. They are said to be 鈥渘orm-providing鈥�, which means that English language norms are developed in these countries.

The Outer Circle of English, created by the expansion of the British Empire in Asia and Africa, does not use English as a native tongue, but as a lingua franca between ethnic and language groups. This circle includes India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Tanzania, Kenya, non-anglophone South Africa and the Philippines.

The Expanding Circle encompasses countries where English plays no historical role but is widely used as a medium of international communication. This includes the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Egypt and Indonesia, with the estimated number of users ranging from 100 million to one billion. The Expanding Circle is said to be 鈥渘orm-dependent鈥� because it relies on the standards set by native speakers in the Inner Circle.

However, I have been pondering how much pressure the practices of the commercial translation world are putting on that 鈥渘orm provision鈥�.

The entire localisation industry works on the principle of human language experts translating from a foreign language into their mother tongue. This practice is deemed to result in the most culturally accurate target text, with idiomatic fluency and a reading experience that most resembles that of the original. Except when it comes to translating into English.

There are simply not enough native speakers of English who are able to translate from world languages into English. This becomes even more of a problem when it comes to minority languages. The English speakers in Kachru鈥檚 Inner Circle are notoriously lacking in foreign language skills, and those who do study languages and translation have 150 foreign languages to cover. This imbalance leads to a lot of the foreign language content generated in the Expanding Circle countries being translated into English by the natives of those countries.

Many of these non-native translators are good at this 鈥� I speak from personal experience as a Finn who has translated into English a fair bit. Our translations can absolutely be fit for purpose; we understand the source text perfectly and can render it accurately in English.

But our translations into English are rarely on a par with those of our equally qualified native English peers. When it comes to compelling sales arguments, use of subtle humour and the ability to generate the feeling of exclusivity, our nuanced persuasion skills in the target language can fail us. Had the communication been taking place in person, our native English audience would undoubtedly have made allowances for this. With written content, it is not so easy.

Everyone knows that poorly written English affects customer perceptions. In the modern digital context, where consumers are wary of spam and phishing, poor English scares customers away and makes an otherwise good website look like a scam. But not everyone appreciates that decent albeit less-than-fluent English written by non-native speakers also shapes the customer experience.

When I was trying to find information online about the impact that non-native English writing has in our world today, I came across articles demonstrating how your earnings in an English-speaking country are affected by your level of spoken English, how a strong foreign accent can affect your career prospects, and how poor grammar can spoil your chances 鈥� even on an online dating site.

But it was hard to find information on what effect English content written by non-native speakers of English has on business and on the customer behaviour of native English speakers. There seems to be a lack of research in the premium consumer market into the response of native English readers to sales material, instructions or information leaflets that have clearly been translated from a foreign language into English. These texts may not be riddled with spelling mistakes or odd choices of words, but the reader still gets a sense that 鈥渟omething is not quite right鈥�. Something jars in the way the information is presented or simply makes the reader feel alienated rather than included.

It can be challenging to develop English translation solutions that result in high quality content, but the least we can do is try. The first step would be to take an honest look in the mirror. Surprisingly many non-native speakers of English assume they have the right and the competence required to assess the level of English they produce, either themselves or at their company.听 Nordic nationals seem particularly presumptuous in this regard. Why is this the case? That right belongs to our 鈥渘orm-providing鈥� friends. What might seem like a decent English translation of a product brochure in Finland might not cut the mustard in the countries of the Inner Circle.

Like the rest of us, the 330鈥�380 million native speakers of English in our global village deserve to be addressed in their true mother tongue. Like the rest of us, they value access to information in their own idiomatic language and prefer to buy products where the quality of the documentation reflects the quality of the product. Let鈥檚 start serving native English speakers in native English.

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