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Localizing visuals in marketing content
Image adaptation is an important part of the localization process. Localizing all your visuals is a fundamental part of any content marketing strategy. Global sales and marketing campaigns often include images, especially if what they are advertising are videos such as product demos, feature videos or apps.

Images as words can change from one culture to another as they can carry different meaning for different audiences. Therefore, when translating and localizing visual content for a global marketing campaign, research about your target audiences is key. Images that are taken out of context can send the wrong message.

You need to understand your audiences’ cultural behaviors, cultural norms, and sensitivities. The goal is to offer culturally appropriate visual content to each locale that convey your message. An image that is not localized can be misunderstood or be offensive. This can have very negative effects in a company’s image and thus affect its bottom line. That is why the localization team needs to consider many factors if they want their visual content to be effective, including the following three.

The impact of colors

The different colors you are using in each locale included in your marketing campaign are really important. The meaning of colors can differ from country to country (or culture to culture). The color white, for instance, has a negative connotation in some Asian countries where is related to death while in Western culture, this color can be associated with weddings. Another color that represents mourning and loss is Orange. That is true for the Middle East while in the Western cultures the color orange symbolizes autumn and harvest.

Symbols

Be very careful when using symbols in your marketing materials like flags, for example, as they don’t belong to a language or a specific culture. Simple objects may look different in different cultures. A home or a mailbox can be very different from country to country. A ‘thumbs up’ can have a totally different meaning from one country to the other.

Depictions of people

Images of people need to reflect the cultural values of your locale. An important factor to take into account is the dress code of your specific target market. For example, if your project includes the Arabic market, all the images should reflect the conservative culture of Arab countries.

Always remember that localizing your visual content right could give your brand or project the best opportunity to succeed.