Survey says… skip Danish when crafting your international messages

What separates the good from the great in Danish international marketing efforts? Our experience points to two things: the language companies use when crafting their communications, and the place of communications in the company’s overall business strategy.

Thinking international means starting in English
We see that our clients who start in Danish and then translate to English and other languages have a harder time than those who start in English first. Even if it’s not their native language, simply thinking in English helps them “think international.” Their messages are finalized faster, they’re sharper, and they’re much more easily localized to the audiences they’re aiming to reach.

Strategic level authority and powerful tools
And we see that companies with communication as part of their business strategy have an easier time getting internal consensus. This isn’t surprising – since the business plan gives the communications team and the key messages authority.

Snapshot survey suggests that starting in Danish is dangerous
We carried out an informal survey to explore the relationship between language choice and the strategy-communications link. We heard from 50 marketing and communications professionals, most of whom market beyond Scandinavia to Europe or the rest of the world. Here’s what they told us.

• 85% say their brand and messaging is influenced by other departments
• 80% start crafting messages in English
• Of the 20% that start in Danish, half translate to English first and then on to other languages as needed

We asked everyone about translating, and their answers confirmed that it distracts their focus from the high-level goals of communication.

When it comes to translations, 83% of our respondents find details like spelling and grammar to be very important. (We are glad to hear that!)

But the good news stops there. A shockingly low 23% said the accuracy of translations is important, and only 39% think it’s a priority to get their messages localized for their audiences. (We wonder how anyone could doubt the importance of message accuracy and localization…)

To 60% of respondents, it was important for translations to carry their branding and corporate values and to represent their companies as international players. (We were amazed – since that leaves 40% who don’t think those strategic issues are very important!)

Stop translating!
The survey suggests that translating results in a loss of focus on strategic goals such as branding, corporate values and international positioning. Our experience shows us that starting in English works very well for our clients – and that starting in Danish doesn’t. And it looks like the translation process might be to blame.

So even if Danish is your native language, we think you’ll get closer to your international audiences faster (and cheaper) if you start creating your messages in English.