Post by Fatima Salmi

What I love most about localization isn't translation. It's how global brands speak to different audiences, while staying true to their identity. Take Nike. I went through several Nike websites to see their home pages. And I found exactly what I was hoping to see: different ones depending on the market. As we're in the middle the FIFA World Cup (aka football's biggest competition), Nike is adapting its websites' home pages to its target audiences, using the current events. You don't see the same campaign translated into different languages. You see difference stories. On Nike France, you see a close-up of Kylian Mbappé and the French playing is considered an art. On Nike UK, you see Jude Bellingham celebrating with his co-players. On Nike Spain, Mikel Oyarzabal is highlighted for his numerous scores. This actually feels relevant for every audience. As a French person, it would have been weird to see Mikel Oyarzabal or Jude Bellingham on the landing page of Nike France. Seeing Mbappé there just feels natural. The thing about localization is that the products on the websites are the same. All links on those headers bring you to football clothing. But it's the storytelling before that makes you click on the said links (or not). A brand could launch only one generic "World Cup" campaign and translate it into every language. Or it could celebrate the players, stories, and moments that each local audience actually connects with. That's the difference between translation and localization. One transfers words. The other creates relevance. That's one of the reasons I love working in localization. It's where languages, culture, branding, and marketing all come together. I've attached a few examples from Nike's different websites if you're curious to compare them. 👀 Which team are you supporting? For me, being a binational has perks: as much as I wanted to see Morocco's first star, I'm now 100% rooting for French's third one 🌟 (it looks good on the Mbappé's jersey, doesn't it?) 👀🤍