Localising promotional materials for pharmaceutical companies
Pharmaceutical localisation adapts promotional content to a market's requirements and clinical practice as well as its language. The brief, the campaign workflow and direct access to the client's expectations shape the work.
Materials and market requirements
Localisation conveys meaning in a target language and adapts content for another country or region, taking account of its intended use and creation workflow. Pharmaceutical promotional materials include the following forms.
- Slide sets, including eDetailers.
- Brochures and leaflets for doctors at conferences or on calls and patients at the point of sale, and other advertisements.
- Emails.
- Promotional posters.
- Website content, including interactive or gamified content.
- Promotional and educational videos and animations.
- Press releases.
Compliance is considered from the start of a campaign, but market-specific requirements mean global copy, usually in English, needs local adaptation rather than simple translation. Adjustments may include locally approved doses and dosage forms, national clinical guidelines, prescribing and dispensing procedures, the patient profile or the prescribing specialty. Global content creators focus on the audience, the meaning of key messages and the evidence, while the local team adapts the material to local requirements.
A 2024 illustration proposes changing “This study has shown that the drug is effective” to “This study has shown that the drug has an acceptable efficacy profile” for a highly regulated market; for a regulator prohibiting “efficacy profile”, a possible alternative is “Administration of the drug has been associated with favourable outcomes”.
The campaign workflow
A five-phase creation and localisation workflow assigns these roles.
| Phase | Roles |
|---|---|
| Planning | Marketer, product manager, designer, content creator |
| Content creation | Content creator, designer |
| Global approval | Product manager, marketer, medical science liaison, lawyer |
| Localisation | Localisation team |
| Local approval | Product manager, marketer, medical science liaison, lawyer |
Localisation is outsourced or performed at the local office, away from the headquarters where global content is created, leaving localisers unaware of earlier discussions and approvals. Localisers also need to anticipate local approval, which matters more than global approval because requirements may differ and cultural differences can play a major role.
Client revisions and the brief
In one freelancer's first marketing-localisation project, an accurate, fluent translation received apparently preferential client comments after a brief consisting of global copy and a designers' brand book with little content guidance. The source texts and back-translations of the approved local versions showed these changes.
| English source | Back-translation of the final local version |
|---|---|
| Treatment A provides visual and anatomic advantages over treatment B and treatment C at 1 year. | Treatment A demonstrates more significant results in improvement of vision and anatomical indicators compared to treatment B and treatment C in the 1st year of therapy. |
| Anti-VEGFs are more effective than laser treatment. | Anti-VEGF therapy has demonstrated higher efficiency rates compared to laser treatment. |
| Compared with treatment B and treatment C, treatment A increased the chances of gaining 3 lines by about 30% (16 studies, 4028 eyes). | When using treatment A, the likelihood of improving visual acuity by 3 or more lines was approximately 30% higher compared to treatment B and treatment C (16 studies, 4028 eyes). |
| World experts on efficacy | Expert opinion: corticosteroid sparing effect of the treatment and potential decrease in the number of atopic dermatitis exacerbations |
Some changes followed compliance requirements that the translator had not been taught; compiling a style guide with the agency by comparing approved versions with initial translations gradually reduced revisions. The title change was unrelated to compliance: the client wanted a more formal text, but had not specified that preference or provided references. Without an initial briefing, the client modified half the text, and the agency asked the translator whether the changes were justified; proper briefing could have avoided the extra work and subsequent communication.
Revised legacy materials can leave localisers uncertain about which earlier changes to carry into the next assignment. Direct participation in client briefings, rather than receiving stylistic requirements through a project manager, may significantly reduce revisions and smooth long-term cooperation.
Clients may outsource translation without an adequate brief on the audience, purpose and desired campaign outcomes, or may not realise that a translator can customise content. After poor localisation experiences, some clients are prepared to adapt the global copy themselves for country-specific clinical practice or cultural differences. One translator who later trained as a medical writer found that adapting promotional translations to local requirements added value and came to regard clients sometimes changing 20% to 30% of a text as part of the process rather than evidence of bad writing.
Preparation for localisation
Recommended steps for a localisation specialist are as follows.
- Request a detailed briefing in advance, suggesting that some of the weeks or months allocated to approval after localisation be used for it.
- If a briefing is impossible, ask about the intended market, target audience and campaign goal.
- Study local regulations and adapt the text; if the changes are too extensive for a translation project, consult the client or leave a comment on delivery.
- Check for information updated since content creation: data described as new in global copy may be about a year old by the time localisation starts, so flag problems in comments to the client.
Clients may be accustomed to extensive revisions because they have not worked with an experienced localisation specialist; requesting a brief and aligning translations with regulatory requirements can reduce that burden and help the specialist become part of the team.