Cultural adaptation

Cultural adaptation is essential for brands that want to communicate effectively across borders. While translation ensures linguistic accuracy, cultural adaptation focuses on emotional and contextual relevance – how the message feels to its audience.

This process involves adjusting idioms, humor, colors, visuals, symbols and even user experiences to reflect local customs and cultural sensitivities. For example, an advertising campaign that performs well in one market may need localized imagery or tone to engage audiences in another.

RWS approaches cultural adaptation as a blend of creative and digital content localization and cultural intelligence. It’s about preserving intent and impact while aligning with each market’s expectations – so the story remains true to the brand but natural to the audience.