MAIDENHEAD, England,
April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
More than 700 assets adapted and
translated into nine languages in three weeks
Original poetry commissioned by Under Armour (NYSE: UA, UAA) to
honor trailblazing female athletes, was adapted into nine languages
for use across more than 20 countries in just three weeks by
content adaptation specialists SDL Marketing Solutions, a division
of SDL (LSE: SDL), leaders in global content creation, management,
translation and digital experience. The latest instalment of the
global Under Armour campaign 'Unlike Any' coincided with the 2018
Winter Olympics from 9-25 February.
Under Armour's 'Unlike Any' campaign, created by Droga5
New York, celebrates female
athletes whose achievements are often minimized through gender
comparisons. Leading spoken word artists were paired with six Under
Armour athletes, including World Alpine Champion Ski Racer,
Lindsey Vonn, who competed at the
Winter Olympics in North Korea,
and commissioned to write and perform poetry crafted for and
inspired by each. The films, directed by Georgia Hudson through Agile films, combine the
words and fluid movements of each athlete - captured in 360-degree
rotations.
The poetry that resulted spanned a range of stylistic techniques
and forms, including open prose, classic poetic rhyming couplets,
alliterative formats and stream of consciousness
associations. In order to deconstruct the poetry, SDL's
Language Creative Director Silvia
Sanchez worked closely with Under Armour's creative
leadership; and throughout the project with Droga5. Each poem was
then assigned to an in-market native copywriter handpicked from the
SDL roster against their ability to craft poetic content.
To be truly authentic in appeal and reach, SDL Marketing
Solutions was briefed not just to translate but adapt each piece of
content - a process SDL calls 'transcreation' - for nine different
languages. Edits were then produced by SDL Marketing Solutions in
over 70 different formats to run across every customer touchpoint
including cinema, social media, e-commerce and retail
environment.
"This was a beautiful, creative and very personal vision of
amazing journeys by these athletes, which we brought to life for
Under Armour's global community," said Simon Moore, Global VP, SDL Marketing Solutions.
"We go to painstaking lengths to ensure the copywriter fits the
specific brief, to ensure we deliver the most sensitively nuanced
content. This is one of the most challenging creative projects I
have ever been involved in, and one of the most satisfying to see
come to fruition."
Over three weeks a total of 700 different assets were
'transcreated' into Dutch, French, Canadian French, German,
Italian, Spanish, Korean, Chinese PRC and Russian. The campaign end
line: Unlike Any had to be retained in English solely
throughout - and only three languages needed an additional
'transcreation' of the end line: Korean, Chinese PRC and
Russian.
SDL's copywriting team adapted the poetry for the six female
athletes - carefully catering for the individual cultural nuances
and highly subjective perceptions of sport, race, gender, class and
the poetic art form specific to each. The most challenging of the
six to 'transcreate' was Saul
Williams' poem 'For Misty' Copeland, due to the poet's
distinctive and high personal rap style.
The campaign, 'Unlike Any', was SDL's first 'transcreation'
project for Under Armour, and has since worked on the
'transcreation' and adaptation of a number of other high profile
campaigns including the global brand messaging and recent launch of
the new footwear cushioning technology HOVR and its latest
running styles: HOVR Sonic and HOVR Phantom.
The proliferation of media channels and the cost effective
delivery of locally relevant - but globally consistent - content
across all customer touchpoints is one of the biggest challenges
facing brands today. SDL Marketing Solutions is the specialist
transcreation and marketing content production division of SDL,
helping global businesses overcome the content fragmentation
challenge. With more than 1,200 in-country translators and
over 600 copywriters, SDL Marketing Solutions can deliver
culturally relevant communication faster, perfecting on-brand
awareness across every media type and digital touchpoint.
Links
"Unlike Any" campaign page:
https://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/unlike-hub.html
About SDL
SDL (LSE:SDL) is the global innovator in language translation
technology, services and content management. For over 25 years
we've helped companies deliver transformative business results by
enabling powerful, nuanced digital experiences with customers
around the world. Are you in the know? Find out why 79 out of the
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