With this “holiday” approaching, we decided to take a look at what Halloween means to people and cultures around the world. For the United States, it’s a time to dress up in a spooky or pop culture-related costume; drink pumpkin-flavored beer; and eat way too much candy. Kids go door-to-door, begging for candy with the classic threat, “Trick or Treat!” For Americans, it all feels very common. Doesn’t everyone have this October 31st ritual?

Some countries do, yes. In places like Ireland or Canada, you’ll likely be invited to a costume party or hand out candy to groups of kids. For these countries, the Halloween traditions we see on American TV are widely followed. In countries like Sweden, these traditions only came into play over the last decade or so — perhaps due to the rise and influence of social media. 

While America’s version of Halloween has started to permeate other cultures, its cultural significance doesn’t always translate exactly, or resonate in the same way. And why would it? Other countries have their own things to celebrate. In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, for example, there’s Día de los Muertos — a celebration of the dead returning to their homes. From October 31st to November 2nd, people build altars and provide offerings for family members who have passed on. Tricking and treating are replaced with recognizing and honoring.

Even the phrase, “Trick or Treat,” isn’t consistent in different languages. In Spanish, “Trick or Treat” translates to “Truco o Trato.” This isn’t a direct translation; “truco” means trick, while “trato” means “treatment.” Spanish speakers have adapted and adopted this phrase, despite the fact that it has very little meaning to their culture. If you were to present this saying to a Spanish speaker who’d never heard of Halloween, they’d likely have no idea what you meant. 

In France, where Halloween isn’t usually celebrated (with the exception of Franco-American families), the French have taken to using either “Trick or treat,” or “Des bonbons ou un sort.” People may not actively use either of these expressions; they’re mostly placeholders reserved for explaining the concept of American Halloween in the French language. 

When translating, it’s important to understand which cultural references will resonate with an audience, and which will not. If you’re globalizing a product or service in France, for example, you can’t expect Halloween-related messaging to appeal to your audience. An “exciting” Halloween campaign might go right into the trash bin. Not understanding this cultural difference is the first mistake companies make when it comes to International Brand Management. Luckily, Chillistore is here to help.

Our experts know which key words, emotional appeals, and images resonate with certain audiences, and which do not. Our goal is to help you implement these, so you won’t “Trick or Treat” your audience into ignoring your services. An audience that sees themselves reflected in a brand is an audience that buys. 

Learn more about international brand management.

Adobe’s Director of Globalization, Jean-François Venreusel, gave an insight-filled talk about globalization, and why it’s so important in product management. According to Venreusel, companies “leave money on the table” when they fail to bring their products global. They also open up opportunities for competitors to swoop in and dominate the market. When globalizing, companies need a two-fold approach: the “business side” and the “go-to market strategy.” Each market is different, and companies need to be extremely aware of these differences if they’re going to globalize.

Vanreusel also discusses the importance of localization in his talk. He cites that 40% of users won’t buy a product if it’s not available in their language. So, while English may be “universal,” it’s not always the language in which people want to experience products. 

Vanreusel’s talk is music to Chillistore’s ears! After all, globalization and localization are our bread and butter (chili butter, that is!). Reaching audiences around the world is a crucial part of conducting business, but we understand the process can include several pain points. We’re here to minimize those. Our team helps companies address a range of audiences on a daily basis. We know what culturally relevant information to include, which information won’t resonate, and how to make local audiences feel seen, heard, and understood. We walk clients through the process, from conception to testing and review, to make sure their products run smoothly in each target market. Music to your ears? We hope so!

Learn more about our services.

Chillistore’s parent company, Argos Multilingual, announced it has acquired Venga — a San Francisco-based international language service provider. Venga offers a range of services, including translation and localization, AI and data services, globalization consulting, and global creative services. They deal with over 150 languages, and are dedicated to providing clients with top-notch work. The defining characteristics of their services are solution oriented, transparent, and dependable. This means providing clients with clear, no-nonsense information that they can trust when globalizing. 

Venga’s creativity and dedication to the client are just two of the reasons why Argos considers them a good fit. And at Chillistore, we couldn’t agree more! We’re all about communicating with clients — honestly answering their questions, providing them with clear roadmaps for success, and keeping their best interests at heart. We’re constantly adapting with our clients, to fit ever-changing markets and expectations. Venga’s entrepreneurship will be an asset to the Argos family. 

To learn more about the acquisition, visit https://www.argosmultilingual.com/blog/argos-multilingual-acquires-venga-global. 

Chillistore is a Language Quality Assurance company, dedicated to bridging gaps between clients and language service providers. We act as a natural extension of your team, providing everything from terminology management, to multilingual testing, to SEO research. More recently, we have added subtitling, content creation, and production of inclusive content into different markets to our long list of services. We are linguists, writers, artists, programmers, and managers, living in many different countries and working as a close-knit team, and we’re ready to help you with your LQA needs. For more information, visit us at https://www.chillistore.com/. 

LocWorldWide 45 is coming to a small screen near you! Between October 19th and 21st, you can tune into any and all of the virtual event’s fantastic panels, meetings, and discussions. This year’s theme? “Pushing boundaries.” 

We certainly believe in pushing boundaries — especially cultural and linguistic. Globalization is about uniting people from all over the world in relevant conversation; it’s bringing a range of experiences to the table, and figuring out how to relate; it’s building bridges. 

LocWorldWide’s event is certainly a boundary pusher, and we’re particularly excited for one panel in particular!

 

Argos’ Senior Localization Consultant, Kathleen Bostick, will moderate a panel discussion on October 20th, called, “Up Close and Personal.” The panelists — Noreen Henry of Sojern, Loy Searle of Workday, and Val Swisher of Content Rules, Inc. — will discuss their career journeys, focusing on their experiences as women leaders. What challenges have they encountered? How did they overcome them? How have they built credibility in the workplace as a woman in a sea of men? And how do they envision (or hope to envision) females in the workplace beyond the present day?

Chillistore’s DNA is female (we were founded by Anna Woodward Kennedy), and we continue to employ talented women from around the world. Check out our team of women leaders on our management page.

We’re eager to hear what these leaders have to say. Be sure to tune in!

Learn more about our diversity and inclusion efforts.

First impressions are key, and while our parents taught us never to “judge a book by its cover,” they never said anything about websites and marketing materials! Your business’ writing is your business’ brand, and you want both to stand apart from the competition. After all, anyone can drone on and on about why they’re the best; but only some can actually be the best.

When globalizing, it may seem easiest to create one piece of content, and then simply translate it into several different languages. This probably is easier, but it’s certainly not more effective. Simple translations leave room for errors — both linguistic and cultural. 

What if there were people who could write original content for your brand, in a variety of different languages? What if they were able to take a marketing brief, or a source language sample, and craft those into original copy that would reach and attract the local target audience?

Lucky for you, these people and services exist! And they’re at Chillistore.

We understand that audiences — no matter where they’re located — want their content to sound natural and culturally appropriate. They want to feel that content was made for them and them only — not for multiple different audiences. What does this mean for your business? It means your copywriting can’t be cookie-cutter; it has to have originality.

Our copywriters work with your departments, to understand your offerings, absorb your voice and messaging, and then replicate them in the target language. They maintain your business’ voice, without alienating your target culture. They know what phrases will hit, which to avoid, and how your target audience likes to be targeted. They know your audience, and will make sure your copy makes them feel seen and understood. 

Chillistore believes that content has purpose. And we want to help you find yours.

Learn more about our copywriting offerings

First impressions are key, and while our parents taught us never to “judge a book by its cover,” they never said anything about websites and marketing materials! Your business’ writing is your business’ brand, and you want both to stand apart from the competition. After all, anyone can drone on and on about why they’re the best; but only some can actually be the best.

When globalizing, it may seem easiest to create one piece of content, and then simply translate it into several different languages. This probably is easier, but it’s certainly not more effective. Simple translations leave room for errors — both linguistic and cultural. 

What if there were people who could write original content for your brand, in a variety of different languages? What if they were able to take a marketing brief, or a source language sample, and craft those into original copy that would reach and attract the local target audience?

Lucky for you, these people and services exist! And they’re at Chillistore.

We understand that audiences — no matter where they’re located — want their content to sound natural and culturally appropriate. They want to feel that content was made for them and them only — not for multiple different audiences. What does this mean for your business? It means your copywriting can’t be cookie-cutter; it has to have originality.

Our copywriters work with your departments, to understand your offerings, absorb your voice and messaging, and then replicate them in the target language. They maintain your business’ voice, without alienating your target culture. They know what phrases will hit, which to avoid, and how your target audience likes to be targeted. They know your audience, and will make sure your copy makes them feel seen and understood. 

Chillistore believes that content has purpose. And we want to help you find yours.

Learn more about our copywriting offerings