About Advocating Global
A blog designed to support globally minded communication professionals with insight into the global communication strategies that lead to desired behavior and positive end-user outcomes. We write and invite experts to write in about global communication topics in healthcare, corporate communications and marketing, as well as best practices in localization and process management.
Our topics may vary, but our focus is always on the advocacy for the communications professional; to empower them with the tools and best practices to be a global leader and make a difference in the outcomes of the end-user.
Understanding Localization Maturity
Localization Maturity is about matching your organization’s expectations on global communication outcomes with the right people, processes and technologies. As organizations grow and their localization (translation) needs grow, that organization will have to move through stages of maturity. Our Global Communication Maturity Model™ 2.0 shows an enhanced view of the stages through which organizations will progress when implementing a global communications strategy. Each stage represents a point in time when an organization faces unique challenges that must be met and built upon in order to move forward on their global business path.
Translation quote checklist
If you need a quote for translation and don’t know where to start, we hope this translation quote checklist will be a helpful starting point. Confirm that translation is what you need. Translation is creating an equivalent written document in a language other than the...
How to reduce translation costs
Whether you’re a first time or a veteran translation buyer, you may find yourself wondering how you can reduce translation costs. We’re going to lay out some practical steps you can take to avoid additional costs that can add up if you’re not careful. And the best...
Building a Business Case for translation
Building a Business Case for Translation In our approach to translation strategy, we talk about "building a business case for translation for a particular market". When faced with a limited budget, organizations should think strategically about their globalization...
Getting the most out of changing translation vendors
Changing translation vendors can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Just like switching mechanics or internet service providers, it can involve some up-front logistical investment but is well worth it if it ultimately leads to a better partnership resulting in...
Getting content reuse in translation right
Content reuse in translation can be a great way to maintain brand messaging, shorten turnaround times, and decrease costs. But it has to be done right. Since another election day will be here before we know it, we’re revisiting a news item from earlier this year that...
Comic Book typesetting
If you are a publisher and your clients want their comic books to reach new markets and they have their own translations to use, you may be looking for comic book typesetting to help take those translations into the design files. What does a publisher need to know...
International DTP: a crash course
While translation is about getting the message right, international DTP (desktop publishing) or typesetting is about getting the look right. We work with typesetters all over the world to create translated layouts that maintain the creative integrity of the original...
The challenges of choosing languages for translation
A common theme has been crossing our desks a lot this summer: choosing languages for translation. Before you can begin selecting qualified translators, making efficient use of technology, or researching terminology, you must establish your source and your target...
Pros and cons of automatic dubbing
In March 2022, Google opened early access to their automatic dubbing program, Aloud, to a limited number of audiovisual (AV) content creators. Currently Aloud only translates into four languages, albeit four of the ten most spoken languages in the world (according to...
Don’t dilute your brand! Brand identity and translations
If you are managing global communications for your organization, you have to consider how your brand identity and translations of your global content impact each other. The centralization of brand messaging is the first step in creating a consistent brand identity....