Top 5 companies that successfully tackled app localization.

 

Overview

As per DATAREPORTAL - around 4.66 billion people in the world now have access to the internet and that’s a whopping 60% of all human population. In a lot of places, the internet and smartphones aren’t a luxury anymore. Almost everyone you know is engrossed in their mobile phones at some or the other parts of the day. 

Looking at the numbers, there are hardly any doubts about the importance of mobile marketing. More and more companies are taking up mobile marketing strategies to reach potential customers. In such a case, app localization becomes important.

What is App Localization?

It is a fairly wide concept. The entire purpose of localization is to make the new audience feel comfortable with your products and ideas. Whereas mobile app localization helps you popularize your brand worldwide through your interactive mobile application. 

Basically, it’s a strategy where you optimize your mobile app to meet the cultural taste and preference of the target country. According to Distomo - app localization is super beneficial, especially in Asia. Major Asian economies have the most free-downloads and revenue generation from apps that operate in their native language.

Certainly, there are huge incentives to app localization. In this article, we shall take a look at five companies that localized their apps and nailed it.

Also Read: 6 Reasons Why Mobile App Localization Matters For Global Success

Subway Surfers

This popular mobile game was developed by Kiloo and SYBO Games (both based in Denmark). The game saw huge success in the App Store due to its simple gameplay and dynamic ideas. The best example of app localization was displayed by the game developers in the Indian market.

The Subway Surfer world tours was a marketing strategy by the game developers to ensnare players from every country. The plan is simple - while the player keeps speeding through the tracks, the graphics around him change to meet the landscape of popular cities from almost every country.

When it reached the city of Mumbai, the streets resembled the colorful, vibrant vibe of the popular city. Rangoli (traditional powder paintings in India), Lotus (India’s national flower) and Holi (think La Tomatina w/colors) colors were enough to capture millions of Indian hearts.

Also Read: Spanish Localization: Should You Localize into LA or European Spanish?

TikTok on your Block!

The app’s popularity can hardly be questioned. Often quoted as the ‘most trending’ app among the youngsters with an exception of Instagram and Facebook, it has brought up the innovative idea of mini-videos for our fast-paced generation.

When the creators of TikTok, the Chinese company ByteDance, decided to adopt an app localization strategy, they chose the best way to integrate the app into India’s daily routine.

How? By locals, for locals! TikTok optimized the app to bring out content from local groups, released several Bollywood song trends, and promoted them through Bollywood biggies and influencers. Another very attractive strategy was to send TikTok goodies to its popular creators. The unboxing of these gifts also encouraged many users to put in more videos. The use of their creative hashtag formula also helped bring in more users – especially in India.

Under this strategy, TikTok encouraged the use of various hashtags on fashion, makeup, lifestyle, and food that gradually develop into a trend. Users then try to give the hashtag their own twist, leading to thousands of videos on the platform every day.

And when everyone around you keeps talking about that one app with all sorts of videos, there’s a hundred percent chance you’ll try it. Or at least 99% for people who don’t succumb to peer pressure easily. Now banned due to India’s field with China - the app is sorely missed by millions

PUBG by Bluehole

One of India’s two unicorn games as reviewed by AppAnnie, PlayerUnknown’s Battle Ground took India’s youth by storm when it was first released. Most of PUBG’s revenue comes from virtual player merchandise like skins, clothes, hats, and accessories that you can use to personalize your character.

PUBG’s localization strategy was pushed mainly through influencers. A lot of streaming channels on Youtube popped up due to PUBG. With several modifications like roast voiceovers, game hacks, and expensive equipment use, these influencers attracted more and more people towards the game.

The game was localized in 17 different languages! And this doesn’t just involve in-game content like game sites, game string, game product descriptions, and FAQs but also includes out-of-game content like descriptions, ads, and merchandise review articles. Every season was also localized to enhance the appeal of the game. 

The subtle move of including almost every digital payment method also helped. It not only makes it easy for a user to pay (as they’re familiar with the dynamics) but also instills a certain confidence in the people who prefer paying through native payment methods.

Pacer’s Russian Translation

If you’re not familiar with Pacer - it is a fitness app that monitors your exercising patterns. This includes diet plans, step counts, personalized workout sessions, etc. It was a small startup developed by Pacer Health, a company based in Beijing.

Upon analyzing the market, they found that the Russians had a certain fondness for fitness apps with huge downloads every day. The company decided to enter the Russian market with a small budget. After a few uncertain steps, Pacer chose to get its mobile app translated professionally into Russian.

It wasn’t long before users started trying the new app. New features like trail ratings and challenges for runners, cyclists, and even joggers were added to make the app different from other Russian fitness apps.

And Voila! The app jumped its ratings from 102 to 7th in a matter of months. It is now significantly popular in Russia and we’re positive that app localization works wonders for your business!

Also Read: How To Localize Your Website For China

Evernote’s Insights

Evernote is one of the most beloved apps on the App Store - it helps you jot down everything important in just a matter of seconds. The fonts are amazing and so is the UI. When the developers analyzed their user base, to their surprise, they found a large number of Japanese who frequently downloaded and appreciated the English-based product. 

To expand further to its Japanese audience and to gain useful first-hand insights, the company actually visited some of these users all the way to Japan. The move definitely won many Japanese hearts and now, the app is pretty popular in Japanese work culture. Phil Libin, Evernote’s CEO was greatly inspired by their long-term business management policy and aims to keep the company alive and kicking for over a century. 

Another thing that greatly influenced Evernote’s business policy was the Japanese tradition of exchanging business cards. Soon enough, Evernote developed the name-card scanning feature. With such intricate details – failure was hardly an option. 

 Japan is now Evernote’s second-largest revenue market.

Wrapping up

App localization is important and beneficial, but only if combined with thorough cultural and linguistic research. With so many success stories, here’s a fail that’s only included to tell you how things can go really wrong if your translator isn’t professional. 

A few years ago, Pepsi attempted to bring in a thrilling slogan for its Chinese audience. The slogan in English was ‘Come alive with Pepsi Generation’ which translated horribly into ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave’. The Chinese youth had a lot of fun with that one.

Sure, it’s funny and we can't help giggling at it but we’re sure that it’s absolutely not what you’re looking for.