In academia, translation scholars fervently discuss whether localization and transcreation should be seen as new types of translation processes or as simply translation rebranded for marketing purposes. They debate whether post-editing of machine translation (MT) and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) output are evolutions of traditional translation practices enhanced by technology or new practices in their own right.

Meanwhile, language industry professionals spend their days delivering and developing new high-end services for demanding clients. For them, these academic discussions may seem trivial or irrelevant. But in fact, defining the concept of translation and effectively conveying the differences among diverse services could be key to helping businesses succeed in competitive markets.

In my recent doctoral research conducted at the University of Surrey, I analyzed service diversification in the marketing translation sector and found that — in an attempt to appeal to potential clients who might otherwise turn to freely or cheaply available MT solutions — language service providers (LSPs) often obfuscate the meaning of translation and ultimately weaken potential client views of their services in the longer term. In this article, I argue that LSPs that want to market a range of services need to be able to differentiate them clearly in relation to the generic concept of translation, highlighting which client needs are met by each service.