In the words of Ann Demecheleer, Brand and Content Coordinator at Shurgard:
“We found Blue Lines through our digital agency. In 2016, we launched our new corporate website in the UK. As our focus was on customer service and user experience, all the texts were carefully screened and revised. This was a large-scale, ambitious plan that needed the help of a professional translation partner.
Back then, we asked four translation agencies – including Blue Lines – to do a test translation and Blue Lines emerged as the winner. It has proven to be an excellent choice to this day. Quite apart from the quality, you also excel when it comes to punctuality and reliability. We feel really comfortable working and communicating with you. Each project is closely monitored and delivered promptly and Blue Lines really does take feedback into account, both during and after projects.”
Shurgard’s translation requirements
As Shurgard operates in 7 different countries, they felt it was important for all the translations to be done by native speakers. And at Blue Lines, we always adhere strictly to the ‘native speakers only’ principle for all our clients. Consistent terminology was another important point, as terminology is part of Shurgard’s brand identity. That is why we started to create translation memories in the various language combinations at Blue Lines.
“Simple & straightforward – the most important information first. We go for bullet lists, short and logical paragraphs and try to avoid repetition or unnecessary sales talk. The nature of the source text also helps to determine the tone of voice of the translation. A blog is informal and creative. A direct mailing needs to be informative and to the point. And a new text for the website needs to be appealing, easy to read and tailored to the specific properties of each market,” emphasises Ann.
2018, the year of content
“Content is very important, as we want to communicate with potential clients with as much transparency as possible. No nasty surprises. We aim to give them a complete overview of our services, prices and storage options. We make all this information available on our corporate website for the 7 markets in which Shurgard operates, so each content project always involves 7 languages.”
Ann tells us that 2018 is a crucial year for content at Shurgard and this has led to various different projects:
“Transparency builds trust. Potential clients want to find answers to their questions quickly and easily. What is more, they don’t want to be faced with any unpleasant surprises afterwards. That’s why we have also added FAQs and additional web pages. It’s also great to share specific storage tips & tricks as an extra service: storage is our business, after all. For example, we are currently working on a series of ‘How to Pack’ and ‘How to Store’ articles in which we explain the best way to store a fridge, pack crockery or books etc. We have had a blog in the UK since 2015. This year, we also launched a blog in the Netherlands and France. Every week, we publish a post on general topics such as decoration, moving house, DIY, trends or lifestyle, often with a subtle – or not so subtle – reference to storage. We also have an active presence on social media, where we publish interesting storage facts and catchy posts.”
Working methods
Shurgard’s marketing team mainly supplies new content in English, as every pilot project starts in the UK. The texts are sent to Blue Lines in Word, XML or Excel format. Blue Lines then localises and translates these source texts into Swedish, Danish, German, French, Dutch for Belgium and Dutch for the Netherlands. At the end of the journey, this ensures that Shurgard gets the same message across in 7 different languages.