The Benefits of Bilinguals in Advertising

Curious as to what other professionals had to say about the importance of learning another language, I asked this question to a pool of copywriters and social media marketers:

"As a copywriter, how important is it to you to learn another language? And if you do know another language, do you often market it to potential employers?"

Here are their responses.

Alex, copywriter in Miami, United States
In my experience, learning a second language taught me a lot about the first, and gave me a lot of access to information that's not available otherwise. Also, there is several types of copywriting work that involve translation or transcreation (which is what I do on a daily basis). Nowadays, it's very common to create sites, web campaigns and content for more than one market, or language, and specially for freelancers.

So, depending on your clients, it would be a really good added value to have more than one language in your portfolio of services.

Nick, independent editing professional in London, United Kingdom
I speak fluent French, would never attempt to write copy in French, but I have frequently been asked to take a translated piece, look at the original French and put the English version into better 'copy', which often means finding a way of saying something that accurately reflects the original writers intention but which cannot be literally translated.

Jill, copywriter in Sydney, Australia
I have a degree in French, then a career in marketing before specialising in copywriting. Studying another language gives you much greater insight into how your own language is constructed. I would never try to write copy in French but would love the opportunity to create English copy from a French text. Travel overseas also broadens your perspective on life which is always handy as a copywriter.

Sean, copywriter in London, United Kingdom
I wouldn't say it is essential but it certainly is beneficial and can reap many rewards, not to mention quality of life personally. Like other answers have said, learning Italian taught me a lot about how English everyday mannerisms in London had gotten in the way of communicating a clear, direct message. Learning a second, third or fourth language had a very odd way of increasing your appreciation for your mother-tongue!