A handy guide on localising tone of voice, with tips on building brand guidelines for local markets, translating into multiple languages and how to retain the intended messaging across markets.

1. How to
localise
TOV
Top tips for global brands

2. A global campaign’s tone of voice
should be reviewed and localised for
each target market. After all, the way
people communicate varies from
market to market.

3. • In France, to address someone formally
as ‘you’, you’d say ‘vous’, and to
address them casually, you’d say ‘tu’.
Meanwhile, in Japan, you’d never
address a person as ‘you’ at all, at the
risk of sounding impolite.

4. • In Germany, a formal tone of voice is
usually more appropriate, even
when talking to younger audiences
on social media platforms.
Casualness has to be conveyed in
other ways.

5. Key things to
remember when
localising TOV

6. • Work with linguists and cultural
experts from the relevant local
markets.
• Build brand guidelines for each and
every market, making note of the
language nuances for each market.
This includes how grammar is used
for each region.

7. • If you’re creating ad copy or a tagline for a
global campaign, consider how the copy
will translate visually. Character width,
character line height and general word
length differs depending on the market.
• Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters
are wider and longer than Latin characters.

8. • When translating marketing or
campaign copy, provide the
translators with a detailed brief so
they can fully understand the brand
positioning in the target market and
the source text you’ve provided.

9. • Make sure you clearly explain the
intention behind the original copy,
noting any tonal elements that must
be retained in the translated copy.