Do you think you are really doing the best with your French translations? Think again.

Want to improve the effectiveness of your French communications? Good, you came to the right place. I definitely can help you with this. But only if you understand and truely believe in what follows. Otherwise, don’t bother trying to improve your position in this very competitive market against other players who dig it. Find any French speaking translator available and that will do the job ; that is if you want to hit that unique North American audience with a lame version of what you stand for.

First, you need to understand that getting closer to the French Quebecers is not simply a language issue. Yes, we Quebecers speak French. But translating YOUR English material in THIS other language that you don’t even understand won’t get you closer to us. Why? Because it’s not only a matter of words.

It’s a matter of being relevant to us Quebecers.

Ultimately, it’s a matter of you showing (proving?) to us that you do GET us. And in my experience, the only way to do so properly is to have onboard peeps who dig Quebecers. Peeps who speak THEIR language (with all the social and cultural components that are intrinsically part of any given foreign language). Peeps who live there. AND peeps who understand marketing. Your business. Your industry. Your creative. Your sales objectives.

The good news? This is what I do for a living.

But let’s get back to that language thing a moment.

See, the French language used by French people from France is not the same language that we speak here. Why? Because, as they are many examples with the English language (think India, Australia, or South Africa), our French language has a unique flavour that is tinted by socio-cultural elements that are intrinsically linked to it.

Keep in mind that we are North Americans who speak French, but at the same time, we are also very close to our European roots. Add to this our legendary Québécois joie de vivre, and you get a unique mix of culture, social, and political elements to take into consideration in your marketing communications.

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So it’s way much more than a sole translation job?

U betcha! It’s also (mainly?) a marketing job. And you need more than a translator to achieve this. You need someone who can effectively sell your brand or your product in another language. You need me ;)

This is what I call Marketing French translation.

Although I have a lot of respect for translators, in my experience, they usually fall short when it’s time to add some marketing intelligence into a typical piece of content. They might use the proper wording, but quite often, these words won’t make any sense to your consumer.

As an ex-Creative Director with over twenty years of experience in top Montreal advertising agencies, I’ve seen so many lame marketing copy coming to my desk, copy that was translated somewhere in Toronto. Or in New-York. Sometimes in Paris. Or worst, even here in Montreal ; sometimes in the agency I was working in!

Which is normal. After all, the translator job is to translate. Unfortunatelly, that doesn’t alway, if at all, translate into positive ROI. This is when your need marketing French translation.

It’s all about delivering rock-solid local brand experiences

I’m a marketer. I’m an ad guy. I’m a copywriter. I’m a journalist. I’m a content makreting consultant. I’m a blogger. I’m a podcaster. I’m a digital marketing and social media expert. I’m a marketing teacher. So, yeah, I know how to talk to Quebecers from a marketing standpoint.

I’ve been working for dozens of brands, active in many sectors such as Packaged Good, Food, Automobile, Travel, Beverages, Retail, Government, Financial, Leisure, Telecommunications, Media. Name it, I did it.

I did 360 degrees campaigns in B2B, B2C, Advertising, Digital, Social Media, Societal, Activation, Event, Journalism, PR, and even Pharmaceutical. I’ve won over 130 awards from the most renowned international competitions, many of which I had the pleasure to sit as a jury member too.

And during that period, I have worked hand-in-hand with many Toronto agencies and out-of-Quebec clients in creatively translating compellent (and more important, relevant!) material for the Québec market.

Are you ready to give your Québec consumers all the Marketing French translation love they deserve?

Than you better call Norm today !