Being an expat brings certain expectations. In exchange for gaining worldly experience and knowledge, immersion in new cultures, and fascinating stories to tell over pints or blog posts, there is a flip-side. To immerse oneself in a culture, one has to be willing to abide by its laws, customs, idiosyncratic oddities that define that new environment. Those, by and large, are part of the fascination and frustration of living in a foreign land. And of course, language plays a big part in that equation. Being surrounded by speakers of a different tongue, obscure and indecipherable street signs, confusing product packaging, and TV programs with (hopefully) English subtitles only reinforces the notion that you’re ‘not in Kansas any more’, so to speak.
It is refreshing, then, to find some linguistic sanctuary where one can easily understand what the hell is going on, and not feel like the foreigner that he or she is. Take, for instance, The Local. This site is great – and I say that unreservedly – for those of us with (as yet) a tenuous grasp of Swedish. We can learn about the goings-on, participate in the social debate, communicate with others in the same boat, and generally feel a part of the greater social fabric as we try to pick up the language skills. I spent a few years in the Middle East, and as much as I enjoyed learning a functional amount of Arabic, it was nice to kick my feet up on a Saturday morning and read the news, the gossip, the announcements, etc. in English. It made me feel less home sick, less of a foreigner, and eased the transition into my newly adopted stomping ground.
Recently, however, I’ve noticed a number of ads appearing on The Local that only appear in Swedish. Having worked many years in marketing communications, advertising, and media, this is surprising, even a little humourous. Today, for example, there’s an animated ad for Telenor, advertising products and service bundles that arguably, most people would be interested in – phone service, internet, etc. And yet the copy is all in Swedish. Clicking through to its website, everything is in Swedish with no option to toggle to English. Why, then, would the company spend all that money – and media ain’t cheap – to advertise on The Local, billed as ‘Sweden’s News in English’? The technical component of the creative is there – the Flash animation, the click-through functionality, etc. All it would take is a 5-minute translation, and their message would be instantly more appealing to ALL of The Local’s readership, not just those who are fortunate enough to speak the country’s official language.
Pushing further to its main site, Telenor could conceivably increase its market appeal – and thus sales – by providing visitors with a language option. With the state of the economy and the dearth of available jobs, it can’t be too difficult to hire a part time translator to provide accurate, compelling copy in English. Hell, at the bottom of The Local’s main page there’s a link to ‘translation and copywriting by local experts’. Some media properties – e.g. The Local – even provide this service as part of its advertising program. So why, then, when I go to THE premier source for information on Sweden (in English), do I encounter an ad that SHOULD speak to me, but doesn’t?
Given the economy, most companies (in this case, Telenor) are struggling to squeeze every öre and kronor for maximum return. The Local is in a great position to help them – and countless others – by providing access to an attentive audience, in its specific language, and thus provide a cheaper – or more efficient – media alternative. Maybe it can bundle translation services into its pricing – I’m sure a few copywriters out there would be more than happy to pick up some translation work – or at least recommend that on an English site, with English content, English information, and most importantly, English speaking users, the ads would best be presented in English.
Because at this point, the Telenor ad is just an obscure and indecipherable animated box. And that ain’t inspiring me to part with my kronor.