Putting Your Message to the Test
Focus groups test your message before it's put out to your clients, and before any miscommunications end up costing you time and money. Focus group testing is really about testing that what you think you are saying is actually what is being heard – across both language and culture.
We’ve all heard about cross-cultural blunders in translations, like the case of the American Dairy Association replicating its "Got Milk?" campaign in Spanish-speaking countries into "Are You Lactating?" While perhaps technically correct, the meaning was definitely not the intended one. And translations don’t have to go overseas for the message to get lost. It can happen here, with your own clients.
Transferring meaning from one language to another is not always that straightforward. Communicating the message of some English words, phrases, and concepts can be a big challenge, especially if they have no direct equivalent in the target language. At times, words and concepts can be translated in different ways, each of which might mean something just slightly different. Figures of speech, colloquialisms and other expressions that are often used as shortcuts to meaning in our materials can also pose challenges.
Our multicultural/ multilingual focus group testing process will help you determine whether your materials are effectively communicating your message.
Present your documents to a focus group and gain valuable feedback on your materials.