Consulting and Marketing Services

ForeignExchange offers a number of value-added expert services to its clients. For many companies, translation efforts are a component of an overall marketing or packaging program. By taking advantage of our expertise, clients can leverage their translation expenditures.
We work with different departments and functional teams within companies to provide real-world, actionable advice and reports. This ensures that all aspects of your foreign-language efforts benefit from ForeignExchange's reliability, quality, and professionalism

Global brand naming
A name that conveys quality and leadership in one culture can be a source of humor or worse in another. And in a highly competitive global market, you don't get a second chance at a first impression.
We've all heard stories of overseas product introductions that failed because of a poor name choice: the soft drink whose name, transliterated into Chinese, invited consumers to "bite the wax tadpole;" the Japanese sports beverage aimed at the American market called "Pocari Sweat."
These types of blunders are embarrassing, expensive, and sometimes fatal. Yet they happen every day. Why? Because the naming process itself typically ignores a crucial step—global brand-name analysis.
Among other items, global brand-name analysis tests for:
Pronunciation
Will native speakers attempt to pronounce the name in English or in their respective languages? Will they be able to pronounce the words?
Connotation
Do similar words exist in the target language? Is the connotation positive or negative? Is the connotation consistent with the brand's message?
Meaning
If similar-sounding words exist in a target language, do they mean the same or something different?
Appropriateness
Does the name suggest anything obscene or inappropriate?
Phonetics
Would the name have more impact if it were transliterated or translated into the target language?

International marketing
Not only does ForeignExchange supply the linguistic expertise that you need to penetrate global markets but we can also help to orient your global marketing strategy. ForeignExchange can provide detailed, actionable market research and analysis, cross-border marketing expertise, and practical strategic plans based on combined American, Asian, and European experience.
We help companies, web developers, and agencies optimize their investment in the Internet as an integrated marketing and communications medium. ForeignExchange's international marketing services encompass the following:
Content, brand, and personality
Definition and codification of a brand's personality as part of a global branding strategy and style guide.
Positioning
Global positioning of products or services in view of market opportunities and competition.
Tone
Evaluation of a message's style, imagery and tone from the point of view of global markets.
Compliance
Check for legal and technical compliance of message and means according to regulatory requirements of foreign markets.
Delivery
Recommendations for the means of message delivery across global markets.
Translation and copy writing
Translation, adaptation, and rewrite of messages to tailor them to a firm's markets.
Execution
Advertising and direct mail campaigns in foreign markets and management of global Internet advertising and promotion strategies.

Diversity marketing
In the last five years, advertisers and companies have begun to incorporate diversity marketing into their overall marketing plans. As companies target their marketing budgets at various ethnic groups, they need a level of translation and cross-cultural awareness to make a significant impact (and avoid significant mistakes).
For example, a client may not be aware of the many variations of Spanish in use across the U.S. Much depends on what part of the country you're targeting: Miami vs. Los Angeles. Use Mexican Spanish with a Miami audience and you might as well be using French.
In addition to providing linguistic services, ForeignExchange can assist in your multicultural marketing efforts by providing market analysis and testing, ethnic marketing campaigns, and ongoing training and support.

Development of in-country review organizations
Many companies find that the single biggest factor contributing to translation delays is the process of reviewing translations in their respective target countries before they are finalized. Vacation schedules, internal politics, and miscommunications across time zones all make this a difficult, frustrating, and ultimately time-consuming process.
ForeignExchange has developed a better approach: after analyzing your existing organization and work flow, we can provide you with a turnkey in-country review solution, including:

• tested and certified third-party reviewers (approved by the client, these individuals work for ForeignExchange, providing increased accountability and improved turnaround times)
  
• regular status meetings and opportunities for feedback, training, and reviewer changes
  
• documented processes for client approval of reviewers, training, quality control issues
  
• reduction in review times by up to 90%

Foreignexchange Translations, Inc., One Richmond Square, Providence, RI 02906-5139. Tel: 888-454-0787; Fax: 401-454-0789.