16/06/2026
📖 Story time: A Finnish industrial company attends their first major international trade fair.
The materials that performed well at domestic events get translated. The team is pleased with how they look. They head off.
On the day, one thing becomes immediately clear. Their stand has a roll-up banner and a technical spec sheet. The stand next door has a video wall, a custom brand soundscape, and a queue of people waiting to talk.
The product was essentially the same. The approach was worlds apart.
The problem wasn't the translation – it was technically good. The problem was that the materials had been optimised for the wrong audience entirely.
Translation vs. localisation. One converts words. The other converts buyers.
👉 Learn how to navigate into a new market with actual localisation (not just translations): https://www.getsmoothly.com/articles/localisation-vs-translation-why-cultural-expertise-is-critical-in-b2b-content