Evaluate this year’s localisation efforts

• Analyse localisation-related data from the year gone by to determine whether you met your goals and what you want to change in the new year.

Without localisation data, analysing and planning an effective localisation strategy is nearly impossible. You need this to show the decision-makers in your company that you have managed your localisation budget well and made it go as far as possible. Such data could include how much you鈥檝e spent, how much content has been localised and into which languages, cost and volume trends, or any other metric you find useful to track. You should be able to consult your language services partner for this data; they can keep track of such things for you.

However, to get the full picture, combine this information with data related to the performance of the multilingual content itself, like tracking visitors to your website pages or tracking how long they stay on the localised pages. By putting all this data together, you can see how this year’s localisation strategy helped you achieve your company goals, as well as where you may have fallen short.

For example, if you鈥檝e noticed that your sales in Sweden have jumped by 20% after localising your website and online FAQs into Swedish, but the same has not happened in the Danish market, this can be a point of change in the new year. Your marketing team and your language partner could analyse the Danish pages together and consider what may not be working for those consumers: How does the depth of your content compare with your competitors in Denmark? It could also be useful to analyse the Swedish pages in the same way to consider what is going well in that market.

• Consider the qualitative feedback and reviews you have received on localised content and discuss these with your language service partner.

Besides looking at quantitative data, it can also be a useful exercise to look at qualitative feedback from your stakeholders and focus groups regarding your localised content. What have your in-house team said about the localised materials? Have any clients noted inconsistencies or errors? And this doesn鈥檛 just have to be feedback about the final translated product, either. Has anyone involved in localisation on your end found the localisation process inefficient or ineffective? Why or why not?

Ultimately, you want to ask yourself: Based on the successes you achieved or mistakes you made this year, what can be improved for next year? And how can you improve it? Then, discuss these observations with your language partner. This can help you set mutual goals that improve the process on both sides and address any concerns with the past year鈥檚 work.

• Take another look at your language assets and speak with your language partner about what you may want to add in the new year.

The end of the year can be a good time to plan projects and resource updates for the next year, but you must first reflect on the year gone by. Language assets like style guides, translation memories and glossaries are incredibly useful resources for linguists, and if you didn鈥檛 get the chance to ask them for feedback throughout the year, now is a good time to check in. Would they recommend any changes be made moving forward? How often do they consult the language resources?

Strategise and plan for a winning new year

• Talk about your business goals with your language service partner.

When it comes to building an ongoing collaboration with a language services partner, it鈥檚 essential to share the goals and expectations you have in mind. Setting aside time for larger strategic discussions may feel like a waste of time when you have a project that requires a quick turn-around time, but it can significantly improve the long-term collaboration, streamlining processes and leading to greater overall satisfaction on both sides. As you head into a new year, sharing goals with your language partner means that they can be ready to handle changes like peaks in volume, new language combinations, or content adaptations due to rebranding.

• Proactively profile content you plan to write to estimate which solutions you will need from your language service partner.

Do you already know that you will need to update your internal policies at the start of the year across multiple languages? Are you going to try to penetrate any new markets in the new year and need your website localised? Information like this can help inform your localisation budget and strategy for the next year, and you can consult your language partner to ask any specific questions about solutions or cost.

For example, if you wish to localise your website into German in the new year, you may want a quote for the overall project, as well as an understanding of the website localisation solutions that a language service provider can offer you, such as SEO and desktop publishing.

• Connect the relevant members of your team with your language service partner鈥檚 localisation team, encouraging good communication for the year ahead.

Without clear communication links between your team and the localisation team, whether it鈥檚 with a project manager or specific linguists, you鈥檒l struggle to build a collaborative environment for discussions and setting actionable goals and milestones for the future. The start of the year can be the perfect time for connecting people, as they may have a little more time on their hands to set up a meeting and chat about their expectations for the year ahead.

But beyond this first step, how can you continue to facilitate good communication throughout next year? Make time for regular business review meetings to discuss progress and challenges with your language partner and make sure to think about what is meaningful and productive for such meetings. Don鈥檛 feel that you need to invite and involve everyone from both parties just for show. For example, if the agenda for the meeting is strategic, keep the attendees to the appropriate management level people. If it鈥檚 hands-on production related, such as a meeting to discuss changes to a style guide, just invite the people from the teams managing the daily work.

Set yourself up for success in the new year

Taking the time to go through each of the steps above and consult with your language partner may seem long-winded, but heading into the new year with a clear plan can save you a lot of trouble further down the road. Take it from us, the key to seeing positive localisation results is to invest time in a localisation strategy that aligns with your business objectives and is communicated clearly to your language services partner.

For more on localisation strategy and analysis, contact us for a chat at info@stptrans.com.

This article was originally published in December 2024 and updated in December 2025.

The post From this year’s success to next year’s ambition: Your localisation plan appeared first on sa国际传媒.

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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