Case studies

Jaguar & Land Rover

Luxury car manufacturers Jaguar and Land Rover export to over 142 markets around the world. Their multilingual websites receive more than 10 million hits globally each year and enable customers to view the complete range of vehicles and build 'virtual' cars specified to their personal tastes. To ensure that the websites make maximum impact, they must address potential customers in their own language and be regularly updated.

When the latest update was being planned, it was clear that a specialist translation company would be needed to translate the websites into French, German, Italian and Dutch - a total of around 600,000 words over a period of just three weeks. A major challenge was that the files to be translated were written in XML format with encoded, embedded HTML making them more difficult to handle.

Comtec Translations was selected because it could demonstrate extensive experience of the automotive industry and end-to-end multilingual website expertise. In addition, it could handle the technical challenges and deliver translations to meet Jaguar and Land Rover's quality standards.

Another key factor in the decision to award Comtec the contract was the personal approach to project management which resulted in the development of a tailored solution to meet Jaguar and Land Rover's specific requirements. This was particularly important as a close working partnership was seen as crucial in the successful delivery of this project in such short timescales.

Specialist technical routines were required to decode the HTML text for translation before recoding and loading it back into the XML files. As no off-the-shelf products were available, Comtec's technical staff developed its own software tools to handle around 300 XML files of varying lengths. Within four weeks of being awarded the contract, the software had been written and tested by running sample translations to ensure that all files could be received and delivered to Jaguar and Land Rover in the correct formats for loading onto the new websites.

Comtec set up a dedicated project management team comprising twenty-six experienced staff to oversee all translations from receipt to return. The team, which included project managers, IT specialists, translators and quality controllers, was split into two different groups; one to handle the Jaguar translations and one to handle the Land Rover translations.

Extensive liaison with Jaguar and Land Rover's UK-based marketing department and Germany-based IT department was required throughout the project. In addition, close working relationships were developed with technical specialists in each of the target countries. This played an important role in gathering reference material for use by the translators and answering technical questions.

Using the latest translation memory software, Comtec's experienced translators delivered accurate translations with consistent terminology. The completed files were delivered in batches, with the first being despatched just one week after the start of the project, to enable Jaguar and Land Rover's IT team to make an early start on completing the websites.

Rob Carr, Global Customer Relationship Manager at Jaguar commented. "It is testament to Comtec's expertise that all translations were completed on time and without any hitches despite the technological demands of the project. We have had positive feedback from our international offices about the quality of the translations and look forward to working with your friendly and professional team again in the future."

Amtico

Luxury flooring manufacturer Amtico is well aware of the business benefits to be gained by addressing customers in their own language. Not only are business customers more likely to buy when sales material is in their own language, but customer service costs can be reduced if installation information is shown in the user's native language.

For the European launch of the Stratica, Elyptica and Amtico Marine flooring products ranges, Comtec translated marketing and technical documentation, including installation procedures, into a range of languages including French, German, Spanish and Swedish.

According to Kerry Wilde, European Trade Marketing Manager for Amtico International: "Talking to customers in their own language is a key strategy for Amtico globally. Comtec has demonstrated high levels of technical skill and project management expertise and made a real contribution towards ensuring the successful launch of our latest range of products throughout Europe."

Harley-Davidson

Since 1903, Harley-Davidson has produced the most enduring and recognisable motorcycles in the world. The brand has come to symbolise the all-American attributes of individuality, freedom and passion for adventure. Harley-Davidson now has more than 1300 dealerships around the world selling its full range of motorcycle products, which includes thirty-four Harley-Davidson Sport, Custom and Touring models including those from its Buell Motorcycle Company subsidiary.

The Harley Owners Club (H.O.G.) was started in 1983 in response to a growing desire by Harley riders for an organized way to share their passion and show their pride. It has become the largest factory-sponsored motorcycle club in the world with 900,000 proud members and more than 1,350 chapters worldwide with a mission to provide its members with a means to "ride and have fun."

Globally, H.O.G. organises a wide range of rallies and events, local Chapters and training programmes, fly & ride rental and roadside assistance programmes and produces a range of H.O.G. merchandise. It also produces Hog Tales, the official publication of the Harley Owners Group, which keeps members up to date on H.O.G. happenings around the world. Published every 2 months, this award-winning magazine comprises 48 pages packed full of informative articles, entertaining features along with stories by, for and about H.O.G. members.

Written, designed and produced in the USA, the bi-monthly magazine is distributed around the world and needs to be translated into many different languages. To ensure that it appeals to biker enthusiasts in each country, it is important the spirit and style of the original text is conveyed regardless of language. In addition, the translations must overcome all text expansion issues in order that they fit the existing page layouts. Another critical requirement is that all translations are completed within short timescales to meet publishing deadlines.

Comtec Translations was selected as it had extensive experience of translating customer loyalty magazines and was able to meet the tight nineteen-day turnaround for each issue. The project team, comprising a project manager, five translators, two DTP specialists and two in-house checkers, was set up to handle all the translations for each issue of Hog Tales from start to finish.

All files requiring translation are received in Adobe Indesign format. State-of-the-art translation memory tools are used to analyse the files to check for repetitions that have previously been translated for earlier issues. They also enable the development of knowledge bases that make future translations faster and more accurate with consistent terminology. The files are given to the translators along with a PDF of the original English pages to give a clear idea of the intended look and feel of the finished translation.

A major challenge for Comtec has been to ensure that the meaning and feel of the original text, with its wide range of Americanisms and idioms, is maintained in the French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch versions. This required the translators to familiarise themselves with a colourful range of 'biker-speak' expressions and nuances as well as addressing local conventions on time and date formats, currencies, measurement systems and legal issues to effectively localise the text. This ensures that the finished magazines feel right to members of H.O.G. in every country.

When complete, the translated files are checked in batches for linguistic quality prior to being desktop published in the correct format. Any amends or updates are incorporated into the final text at this stage, before the files are ready to be returned to go to print.

Access Advertising

In 2008, the city of Liverpool assumes the status of European City of Culture. Approved by UNESCO in 2004, the bid for World Heritage status includes a dynamic programme of international festivals, which already attract more than nine million visitors to the city each year.

To promote Liverpool to visitors from around the world, the Mersey Partnership asked Access Advertising & Marketing to produce a range of tourist guides featuring the city's many and varied musical, cultural, maritime and sporting attractions. These guides needed to be translated into a range of languages including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese.

It was vital that the translated guides should reflect the distinctive style and spirit of the original text whilst meeting the cultural and stylistic demands of the various target markets.

Access Advertising chose Comtec to do the translation work because it could provide translators with experience working on marketing materials for the leisure and tourism markets and because it has advanced desk top publishing (DTP) capabilities.

Comtec set up a project management team to co-ordinate the translation and DTP processes. Using only professional linguists, translating into their mother tongue enabled the translations to be fully 'localised' to look and feel right in every language whilst maintaining the spirit and style of the original text.

The project management team was in close contact with Access Advertising throughout. This allowed the translators and the DTP studio to resolve any questions about the text or technical queries about page layouts without slowing the process down.

Comtec's flexible approach paid dividends when it came to handling last minute text updates and page layout changes. Its experience of working in multiple languages ensured that the finished translations were all correct and met client quality standards.

Translation memory software was used to assist in the delivery of accurate and consistent text for each guide. The project was completed on time and the guides will be a key element in making 2008 a memorable and successful year for Liverpool as European Capital of Culture.

Commenting on the role that Comtec played in delivering the guides, John Neate of Access Advertising and Marketing said: "Comtec demonstrated that it understood how to effectively translate marketing material and provided a rapid turnaround that enabled us to meet the tight deadlines imposed by The Mersey Partnership."