PANASONIC
Project Definition
• 21 languages, European & East European (please specify)
• Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Romanian, English,
• Multi-lingual project management
• Immovable deadlines
• Translation of Sales & Marketing copy
• Technical translation
• Proofreading
• Typesetting
• Validation – check the working mobile phone prototype
Summary
Over 8 years, K International Plc provided translations into 21 languages of a wide range of marketing materials and product user guides for mobile phones. Translating marketing copy is more complex than technical translations so translators were pre-selected and tested.
K International provided full DTP and print layout services for mobile telephone user guides including the translation and localisation of software strings, which varied from country to country due to different telecommunications operational procedures. Given the intensely competitive nature of the mobile phone market, continuous product testing meant last-minute changes had to be incorporated into final copy. Product has to be shipped with full user instructions – shipping is booked months in advance, therefore ‘Failure was not an option’ as NASA would say. All projects were delivered on time – it was not uncommon for K International to have teams working overnight and weekends to accomplish deadlines to a pre-defined ‘house-style’.
Background
K International Plc were appointed to handle the entire translations process for a wide range of marketing materials and 96 page product manuals in 21 languages. From experience, MD Rosalba Venturi knows that planning, preparation, project management and quality control were critical.
Translating marketing materials is more difficult than technical translation, because what works as sales and marketing copy in one country may be wholly inappropriate in another. Therefore resources had to be carefully vetted in advance. Meetings were convened with overseas Marketing Directors, style guides were prepared and translators were selected on the basis of good experience in writing marketing text and the ability in writing to client’s specific house style.
This work covered the preparation of leaflets, brochures, posters, point of sale and mobile phone user guides and accessories.
Accuracy & Localisation
Quality Control is another important aspect of the work with testing and proving of the text in a pilot phase. A user manual must be 100% correct or the knock-on impact would be unthinkable. Sometimes K International would assist Panasonic with their technical authoring process in English for the master text.
User Guides could run from 8,000 to 12,000 words and varied between 72-96 pages, A5 or A6. Because products were continuously under development, the biggest problem was making sure that the software and the phone operations procedure tied up with the translation.
However, translating a user manual was not as simple as taking one master text and translating for all countries. Mobile phone agreements and operational procedures differed from country to country so it needed people ‘on the ground’ to pick up these subtle nuances and incorporate them into text. Attention to detail was vital. K International staff often picked these things up and informed the client, illustrating the close partnership approach to the work.
Size Matters!!!
A mobile phone screen is so small (only 12 characters wide) that translators were forced to use very short words, which placed unusual restrictions on them. This was especially difficult in German, which has notoriously long words due to its grammatical structure.
Speed of Turnaround & House Style
Product launch dates could not be moved but continuous product testing meant debugging software and therefore altering the translation of the user guide in all languages, right up to the last minute. Sometimes documents were needed in 24 hours so sections would be delegated to different resources, all of whom were accustomed to writing according to a consistent ‘house style’.
Quote
"During our 6 year relationship with K International, I have always found their services to be extremely commendable. The company is continually progressive and has always responded to the technical advances in both our and their industries ensuring that we stay at the top of our respective fields. I know that K International have no reservations in putting in the maximum effort required on every occasion, and consider that they are an essential and integral part of the Global Strategy of Panasonic GSM in the UK."
Stuart Cheer, Panasonic Matsushita Communications UK
Summary
As the above quote illustrates, the partnership remained excellent throughout eight years and was only ended by the restructuring of the company and closure of this department.
Panasonic withdrew to its native shores as many manufacturers in the mobile telecommunications industry found the market suddenly contracted.
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