BMW returned to Formula One as an engine supplier at the start of the 2000 season, and are naturally keen to maximise the market-ing return on this considerable investment. Mother Tongue has been working for BMW Motorsports’ German agency Jung von Matt an der Elbe since the start on the interna-tional press advertising surrounding BMW’s F1 presence.

For each Grand Prix, JvM produce one ad in German. A typical ad comprises a headline, normally including a German wordplay or witty reference to the visual; a bodycopy, highlighting the team’s commitment and enthusiasm, and the technology transfer between racing and production cars.

Mother Tongue adapts the copy into English, and once this copy has been approved by BMW (both UK and German offices), we then brief it to copywriters in other markets as the basis for adaptations into their languages. The most important of there are Japanese,

Italian and Spanish, but we have also on oc-assion produced adaptations into languages as diverse as Czech, Turkish, Finnish and Indonesian.

BMW favours a very exactly define tonality - precise without being cold, confident without being arrogant - and it is vital to retain this in all versions, while at the same time produc-ing advertising that works in local markets around the world.

CASE STUDY

Brand: BMW (including BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad)Market: UK Type of copy: product brochures, press ads, promotional mailers, dealer newsletters, product selling points, compe-

tition analysers, and various POS materials including flyers and postersService: transcreation and artworking/inputting into client CMS

BMW Motorrad

bmw-motorrad.com Freude am Fahren

Starten Sie eine neue BeWegung.Mit dem C evolution startet eine neue Art der Mobilität: Er ist der erste vollelektrische Maxi-Scooter von BMW. Seine moderne Antriebstechnik ist die perfekte Symbiose von Fahrfreude und Umweltfreundlichkeit und hebt Fahrperformance auf ein neues Level. Mit überragender Beschleu-nigung auf 50 km/h in unter drei Sekunden, vier Fahrmodi, alltagstauglicher Funktionalität und urbanem Design steht der C evolution für den nächsten logischen Schritt in der Evolution moderner Transportmittel. Mehr auf: bmw-motorrad.com/c-evolution

Der neue C evolution.Der erSte MaXi-eleKtro-SCooter von BMW MotorraD.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve worked extensively with various creative agencies in Germany to adapt a vast array of marketing materials for BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad from German into UK English. One key challenge overall is to maintain the appropriate tone of voice for the desired target audience of each brand. BMW favours a tonality that’s precise without being cold, and confident without being arrogant; MINI prefers a more edgy, tongue-in-cheek style in order to stand out from the crowd and appeal to a predominantly younger gender-neutral audience; while BMW Motorrad opts for a more aspirational tone for its communications that promotes self-reliance and a sense of adventure.

One thing all three brands do have in common is that the headlines for their marketing materials are often very creative and involve thinking outside the box to come up with a solution that works in English. For example, a recent press ad showcasing BMW Motorrad’s first-ever fully electric scooter featured the German headline “Starten Sie eine neue Bewegung” (literally meaning “Start a new movement”), with the word “Bewegung” referring to the launch of both a new era of electric motoring and the literal sense of motion. Our solution was “Ride the revolution”. The literal sense of motion is conveyed by the use of the verb “ride”, which can mean either the literal act of riding a bike or going along with something. “The revolution” refers primarily to the growing trend of electric-powered motors, but with the literal meaning of “ride”, it can also refer to the new scooter itself. There’s also the attractive alliteration of the R sound.

Another example is a recent MINI sales brochure which featured the very clever headline “Die Dunkelheit wird Augen machen” on a page showcasing the car’s eye-catching headlights. Our task was to adapt this line into English,

which proved challenging for a number of reasons. A literal translation of the German line would have been “The darkness will be all eyes” – the meaning is more or less clear, that the MINI is unmissable with such dazzling headlights. But we can all agree that this literal English translation sounds pretty clunky and lacks the flair of the German. There was also the added challenge that the image chosen for the page was a front-on shot of a MINI in darkness with its headlights shining bright and looking very much like a set of eyes, therefore mirroring the idea of “eyes” from the headline. For the English transcreation, we had to move away from the German while still expressing the idea of brightness and safety in a punchy way – our solution “Light up the night” was well received. The rhyme and rhythm lend the line its punch, while the expression relates directly to the headlights as well as lending that much-needed show-stopping feel.

Over the years, we’ve liaised closely with our contacts at the agencies to implement a number of process improvements. We now transcreate the regular product brochures via our cloud-based translation memory system, XTM, which has led to cost savings for the end client and ensured consistency of reoccurring terminology. For MINI collateral, we now work directly into the agency’s content-management system, which streamlines the artworking stage by enabling us to check that the copy fits the layout and ensure that the line and word breaks are all correct before the copy goes back to MINI’s in-market reviewers for approval. And for some BMW Motorrad projects, we liaise directly with BMW’s marketing contacts in the UK to obtain local market approval on the English copy, saving time for the agency. In short, we offer a tailored approach for each brand, project and agency – and the fact that we’ve been working as a preferred UK transcreation partner for the company for over two decades speaks for itself.

GOING THE EXTRA MILE FOR BMW