Culturally Relevant, Precisely Translated Content and Images Ask Viewers to Pass On Values of Character, Compassion, Generosity and More
New York, June 15, 2011 – Translations.com, the world’s largest privately held provider of language services and translation-related technologies, today announced that it is working with The Foundation for a Better Life to provide transadaptation and cultural consulting services to the organization, which promotes positive values – such as courage, persistence, friendship and courtesy.
Translations.com began working with The Foundation for a Better Life in 2003, when the organization decided to expand its outreach to international communities. The Foundation’s familiar billboards feature pictures of celebrities, historical icons and everyday heroes, as well as a one- or two-word core value, brief copy, and the slogan, “Pass It On.” To promote positive messages internationally, The Foundation for a Better Life worked with Translations.com to select culturally relevant values, images and wording for billboards that now appear in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
“The values we promote transcend politics and religion. In many cases, they also transcend culture, but we knew we needed more than simple translation to connect with audiences outside the U.S.,” said Kindee Nielsen, vice president of Operations for The Foundation for a Better Life. “Translations.com helped us meet our goal to remind those who view our billboards around the world that the values we live by are worth more when we pass them on.”
Together, Translations.com and The Foundation for a Better Life evaluated the group’s 60-plus billboards and chose 30 that would be most effective internationally. For example, those that were more U.S. centric, such as Abraham Lincoln who tried until he succeeded, were declined in favor of more universal experiences, such as Mother Teresa, representing compassion. Using historical and athletic figures that are better known outside the United States was critical to reaching an international audience.
“In working with The Foundation for a Better Life, we provided transadaptation and support by helping The Foundation take its domestic effort and ‘pass it on’ through thousands of media messages around the world,” said Liz Elting, co-CEO of Translations.com. “The organization needed a partner to adapt its messages and mission for a wide range of international markets, and we were delighted to be to the ones to assist them in their efforts.”
About Translations.com
Translations.com is a leading provider of software, website and enterprise-wide localization services, as well as localization-related technology products. Translations.com solutions allow customers to conduct business more effectively in international markets. The company has a global presence on five continents and serves a variety of clients with dedicated practice groups for every major industry. Translations.com is part of the TransPerfect family of companies. For more information, please visit www.translations.com.