Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report: Hire a translator (Part II)

According to a press release featured on HispanicBusiness.com, David's Bridal has launched a new web site in Spanish. From the release:

"David's Bridal recognizes that the Hispanic customer represents an important and rapidly growing segment of the bridal market," said Robert D. Huth, President and CEO of David's Bridal. "These fashion-conscious young women are on the cutting edge of trends and come to us for wedding and bridesmaid dresses, as well as Quinceanera gowns. Our new Spanish language site and other marketing efforts are designed to keep these valued customers and their family members informed about our dresses and accessories for all their special occasion needs."

The new David's Bridal Spanish language web site features: * Bi-lingual registration where brides can elect to receive information in either Spanish or English, as well as a bi-lingual appointment request form * Information on styles popular with Latinas for weddings and other special occasions * Quinceanera dresses and accessories * Store locator by zip code

Future plans include an Estorias de Boda (Wedding Stories) section featuring "real brides" who submit photos and memories of their wedding day.

"Estorias" de boda? That would be "historias". I'm not trying to bully, I'm just saying, spelling the word "story" wrong is a pretty good indication that you are NOT trying very hard. And that's what I hate, this half-baked effort by marketers to short-cut their way into the Hispanic community with shoddy translations and uncreative marketing. Do they think that monolingual Spanish speakers don't mind seeing their language butchered?

With the Sun-Maid flub in mind, I went in to check out the quality of David's Bridal's new Spanish site. Looks good at first, but without even clicking, what do I see? A big old ad on the right side of the page that says BESTIDOS PARA DAMAS DE HONOR. That would be VESTIDOS in real Spanish.

Luckily for David's Bridal, their site depends more on images than on text, so if you are forgiving with the horrible spelling and weird translations (for the benefit of Spanish speakers, here's a good one: "Encuentra tu atuendo ideal de la cabeza a los pies"), then one can probably find what one wants.

But, again, if you are making the effort to showcase your new Spanish-language efforts via a press release, please make sure your site is actually communicating in proper Spanish. It's a small investment, but one that will garner praise rather than rejection from your Spanish-speaking audience.

HispanicBusiness.com READ THE RELEASE
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Latin_KNOW: The Latino Marketing Report

Comments and insights on marketing and communications campaigns targeting the US Latino / Hispanic community.

July 27, 2005

Hire a translator (Part II)

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