RunMotion is a French AI-powered running training app who were experiencing major growth. They were increasing the number of app users, partnering with big brands and receiving 5 star reviews from users happy with their product.
Their next logical step was to make their app readily available in English, so that they could be found and used by a larger, more global audience. As a French brand, with a full French team, they turned to AI to translate their app and marketing content – which is where the issues began.
More problems than solutions
AI was producing translated content that was confusing, full of inconsistencies and that didn’t feel true to the brand’s identity. The result was English content that reached more users, but was overtly translated and full of mistakes that left international users guessing:
RunMotion knew that the AI translations were damaging the brand’s reputation, causing English users to stop using the app. AI translations were slowing their growth in the international market and the brand was failing to compete with competitors in the English-speaking space because of poor copy rather than app features or technology.
Producing translations that represented the brand
I worked with RunMotion to formalise their English writing style and edit any translated content to ensure it reflected this. From the get-go, we entered a retainer agreement, which meant the brand could send me any new content as it was published so that I could edit and improve it.
I ensured translations were consistent in style, made full sense, and reflected what the brand had said in French. Over ten months, I edited app content, web pages, emails, guides and press releases.
There were recurring issues with the AI translation that I fixed, such as inconsistencies in the English dialect used. AI was mixing US and UK spelling and language and using French formatting and grammar rules, which resulted in clunky sentences that read bizarrely in English.
Seemingly small things such as these can make a big difference when building trust, as they undermine the quality of the product and a user’s perception of the brand.
With more creative copy – such as headings, slogans and taglines – it wasn’t sufficient to edit the AI translations, so I transcreated the content instead. To transcreate these I moved further from the French to replicate the feeling evoked in the target audience, rather than a strictly accurate text.
An example of this is with the headline copy in the above ad: the AI translation read “Prepare yourself in the best way”, which I changed to “Have your best race yet”.
RunMotion on the global stage
RunMotion gained peace of mind by working with me, as they knew that their English content actually made sense and represented the brand in a way they could be proud of. This was particularly important as they partnered with other brands and published content (such as banners) on their websites.
Because we worked on retainer, the brand never had to scramble to fix or edit content within the team, and the process of publishing English content was stress-free.
Since working together the brand have continued to go from strength to strength, and are now working with a bilingual business developer who continues to help them publish English content.
Here’s what RunMotion’s cofounder, Romain Adam, had to say about our collaboration:
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