Translation Services

Brochure and marketing translation

Marketing copy in 300+ languages that stays persuasive, with print-ready files your design team can drop straight in.

Last updated

Marketing translation is a different job from translating a contract. A brochure has to persuade, not just inform, and a headline that works in English can land flat, or wrong, if it is translated literally. Prism Linguistics translates brochures and marketing material in more than 300 languages, using translators who can write, and applying transcreation where a straight translation would not do the message justice.

Your marketing took real effort to get right in English. The version in Spanish, Polish or Arabic deserves the same care, otherwise it quietly undersells you in every market you have just spent money entering.

Translation, and transcreation where it counts

Most of a brochure is body copy: product descriptions, company background, the practical detail. That can be translated directly, accurately and well.

The hard-working parts are different. A headline, a strapline, a pun or a call to action carries tone and intent that a literal translation often loses. This is where transcreation comes in. Rather than translating the words, the linguist recreates the effect, writing a new line in the target language that does the same job as the original. Sometimes that is close to a translation. Sometimes it is a fresh line that simply lands better. We will tell you which parts of your brochure need which.

Designed for design teams

Translated text and the original are rarely the same length. German and Finnish tend to run longer than English; other languages are more compact; Arabic and a few others read right to left. If nobody flags this, you find out the day before the print deadline.

We work with InDesign (IDML), PDF and other design formats, return files ready for your designer or the printer, and point out where the layout will need to flex. The result is a brochure that looks intentional in every language, not squeezed.

What we translate

Print and digital marketing

Brochures and catalogues

Product and corporate brochures, catalogues and leaflets, supplied print-ready.

Presentations

Sales decks, pitch presentations and event slides, kept on-message and on-brand.

Case studies and reports

Case studies, white papers and brand reports, where credibility depends on the writing.

Email and campaigns

Email campaigns, newsletters and landing copy, transcreated to keep their pull.

Social and ads

Social posts and advertising copy, where every character and every nuance counts.

Straplines and slogans

Taglines and slogans, recreated so they keep their punch in the new language.

Questions people ask

Marketing translation FAQs

What is transcreation, and do I need it?
Transcreation means recreating a message so it has the same effect in the new language, rather than translating it word for word. Body copy can usually be translated directly. Headlines, slogans, taglines and wordplay often need transcreation, because a literal version would fall flat or even read oddly. We will tell you which parts of your brochure need which approach.
Can you work with our InDesign or print files?
Yes. We work with InDesign (IDML), PDF and other design formats, and we can return translated files ready for your designer or print-ready for the printer. We also flag where translated text runs longer than the English, which happens often, so the layout can breathe.
Why does translated text change the layout?
Languages are not the same length. German and Finnish often run 20 to 35 per cent longer than English; other languages are shorter, and some, like Arabic, read right to left. We point this out early so your design allows for it, rather than discovering it the day before print.
Do you translate digital marketing as well as print?
Yes. As well as printed brochures we translate presentations, case studies, email campaigns, social posts and ads. For full website content, see our website translation service, and for software or app content, our localisation service.
Will the translator understand our industry?
We match marketing material to translators with a feel for your sector and for persuasive writing, not just the language pair. A brochure for a law firm and a brochure for a fashion brand need different voices, and we pick accordingly.

Taking your marketing to a new market?

Send us the brochure or campaign and your target languages. We will quote, and flag anything that needs transcreation rather than translation.