Some very smart person said “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This statement could not be truer than with localization, defined as the state of being localized or the act of localizing. As companies and company products become globalized, the art of localization and the need for localization tools become more of a demand.
Being asked to localize a product is now a common everyday request. A hotel wanting to advertise in other countries will localize their brochures in several different ways, depending on which country they are sending it to. A brochure sent to Japan advertising a Las Vegas hotel will require a Japanese translator as well as a person who will also edit the content so that it culturally and ethically reflects interests and values for people living in Japan and entice them to come visit. Most human needs are universal, but it’s the details of people’s cultures, beliefs and views that matter just as much. Marketing a product or service to outside countries takes more than glossy reprints of the same hotel to persuade every one in every country. A more common example where localization is imperative is for products that were made in the U.S. lets say and used in another country. Video games are a great example. Video games created in the U.S. will be marketed to players all over the world. So, graphics, sounds, voices and text for the American version of the game is going to be in English with English dialog etc. The same game for a Japanese audience is going to be localized so that the voices, language, text and graphics are translated into Japanese.
Your company can’t afford not to localize your product or service. And just as importantly, not to over compensate and create the opposite affect. For example advertising your high tech computer software in Japan with a Sumo wrestler and a ninja on the packaging would cause offense to many people in Japan, as even though the Sumo wrestler and ninjas are a small part of their culture, be assuming your audience isn’t forward thinking people is na? and you will instantly shoot yourself and your company in the foot. Localizing your product so that the product spotlight’s the Japanese people as some of the brightest, hard working and progressive people on the planet, will bring your company more results. People are going to buy products for what the products can do for them and of course they are going to respond better to a product that makes them feel secure in their identity too. It’s also so important to remember that unlike American advertising that is saturated in loud black and white phrases, slogans and brutally honest and blatant remarks, in Japan, certain symbols whether it be of nature or animals speak just as loud as our American exclamations.