It is related to the concept of localization, which similarly involves comprehensively adapting a translated text for the target audience.
[2] Unlike many other forms of translation, transcreation also often involves adapting not only words, but video and images to the target audience.
[3] Transcreation theory was first developed in the field of literary translation, and began to be adapted for use global marketing and advertising in the early 21st century.
[1] In the Brazilian context, the term is associated with the work of Haroldo de Campos, who compared transcreation to the giving of a blood transfusion.
Thus, rather than battling the Green Goblin in the canyons of New York City, Prabhakar, clad in a dhoti, fights the demon Rahshasa against backdrops such as the Taj Mahal.
"Unlike traditional translations of American comics, Spider-Man India will become the first-ever 'transcreation', where we reinvent the origin of a Western property," said Sharad Devarajan, the chief executive of the Gotham Entertainment Group.
[12] Accordingly, one author has defined transcreation as a "holistic" process of "re-interpretation of the original work suited to the readers/audience of the target language which requires the translator to come up with new conceptual, linguistic and cultural constructs to make up for the lack (or inadequacy) of existing ones.
Not only must copy be translated correctly, but other factors must also be considered, such as culture, mores, dialects, idiom, humor, and context.
The tasks of a transcreator include establishing an emotional connection between the audience and the message, and maximizing cultural relevance.
These factors in turn influence consumers’ behavior and their reactions to advertising elements such as text, tone of voice, humor, settings, casting, and tonality.
Transcreation can also have a positive impact on a website's SEO performance,[17] as it favorises user experience and content quality; two essential factors for search engine optimisation.