HIGHLIGHTING THE REAL COST OF ‘FREE’

Wanting to establish itself in a new market—the legal sector—RWS Language Weaver needed to highlight the importance of its secure machine translation solution for law firms.

To do so, they would have to convince users to shun the free online translation tools from tech giants that pose a huge security and reputational risk, and convert them into paying customers for their offering.

Our main challenge was to communicate the security issues with free translation tools, without resorting to the tactics of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) that can often intimidate the audience, and result in paralysis rather than the required behavioural change.

Instead, we set about crafting a creative treatment that would elicit the required emotional response, with an alternative take on fear that would inspire the audience into action.

We needed an approach that benefited from the shock factor of FUD – but with a twist.

The resulting ‘Safe in our Hands’ campaign acknowledged the risks with a playful parody of scary language and an approachable and supportive style. This allowed us to highlight the dangers of unsecure translation platforms without the intimidation tactics of hundreds of scary stats or fearmongering.

The tone then swiftly became reassuring – emphasising that with RWS Language Weaver, their route to safety would be assured.

Quirky and playful headlines like ‘Boo’ and ‘Chill’ were a fitting nod to the language services they provide.

Visually, we incorporated wry humour to aid the sense of reassurance with RWS Language Weaver playing the role of hero. Bold and colorful, this was a campaign to attract attention, and open the eyes of an industry that may have overlooked the perils of not prioritizing the security of its translation technology.