Recently, Karott’ also started to develop CSR (corporate social responsibility) communication projects with a wider scope, including for companies outside of the food and health industry.
In 2007, Nicolas Rousseau, one of the founders of Karott’, contacted Blue Lines. Nicolas had worked with Blue Lines in the past and was very happy with the collaboration.
“I really enjoyed working with Blue Lines. What I mainly appreciated was the rapid follow-up, the superb quality translations, the respect for deadlines, etc. We know that we can count on Blue Lines and that the team will always go that extra mile to fulfil our expectations and those of our customers to the best of their ability.”
A very specific style
Initially Karott’ developed communication strategies and tools for health professionals. The content that is associated with these strategies varies and includes brochures, digital communication through direct mailings, websites, social media…, meaning the style must always be tailored to the target audience (e.g., GPs) and the medium (the communication style adopted on social media is different from the one used for web content). Karott’ now also develops strategies and content for the public, which require a different style and tone of voice in order to be effective.
Language combinations
Originally, the source texts were written in French as the three experts who founded Karott’ were French-speaking. Subsequently, the team grew and incorporated talented Dutch-speaking professionals, meaning content is now available in both languages. Blue Lines mainly translates the texts into Dutch, French and English.
Karott’s expectations
As the content of the texts is often quite technical in nature, the translators need to be familiar with the subject matter. This means you need specialised translators. Over the years, Blue Lines has developed a pool of translators with extensive experience in health and nutrition. SEO translation is another important skill. In all the translations, the translators must take into account restrictions in terms of the number of characters and use certain keywords. They also use a terminology list containing certain terms, and a style guide with Karott’s style preferences. As a result, frequently used terms are always translated in a consistent manner and translators are aware of any applicable guidelines. Figures must always be translated as figures, instead of being written out in full.
A friendly collaboration
In 2014, Nicolas (Karott’) invited Stef (Blue Lines) to tag along to a major scientific event in San Diego. Nicolas and Stef reported on the event on social media on behalf of one of Karott’s leading customers. A token of the trust and collegiality between the two companies. Here’s to the next ten years of collaboration!