Google Chromebook needed more than translations. They needed a reliable way to adapt their U.S. campaigns for 13 international markets with cultural nuance, speed, and consistency. I built a small, focused team at Arts & Letters, created a true transcreation pipeline, and introduced forecasting, clearance planning, and remote production systems that became Google’s internal benchmark for how global work should be done.

Overview

Chromebook was Arts & Letters’ first major client, and the early international adaptation process was inconsistent and difficult to scale. Their global markets weren’t confident a U.S. agency could handle their cultural needs with the right nuance. I volunteered to build a dedicated team and establish a real workflow where none existed. The role required fast decision-making and comfort with ambiguity as we built a scalable system from the ground up.

Approach

We treated international markets as creative partners rather than a finishing step. The system we built centered on collaboration and transparency: frequent touchpoints with each market, local copywriters for true transcreation, international VO casting and supervised records, graphic layout reviews, and smarter clearance planning for trickier regions like France and the UK. I worked closely with external vendors across markets, negotiated efficient rates, and ensured each region had the right resources at the right time. This shifted the perception of our U.S. team from “outsiders translating scripts” to trusted partners who understood both the creative intent and the cultural context. 

In parallel, I built a CG production pipeline and product asset library for Chromebook hardware. This ensured clean, consistent product renders across regions, languages, and aspect ratio. It eliminated guesswork, sped up versioning, and enabled us to deliver dozens of market-specific assets without reinventing wheels.

We also introduced quarterly forecasting based on anticipated market needs, allowing us to plan resources and negotiate rates more efficiently. This gave us predictable production calendars and clearer alignment across teams, making it easier to coordinate market-specific outputs running in parallel across dozens of deliverables and multiple campaigns.

Outcome

The new workflow became Google’s “gold standard” for global adaptation. It enabled us to deliver 50+ assets per market with consistency, cultural nuance, and speed. Standardizing the workflow reduced redundant rounds of versioning and made costs more predictable across markets. The system scaled seamlessly across 13 markets and became a core support engine during Chromebook’s rapid global growth, including the year the brand surpassed Mac sales for the first time.

Summary of Responsibilities

• Built and led a dedicated localization workflow for 13 global markets

• Established a centralized CG product asset pipeline and library for Chromebook laptop models

• Partnered with the U.S. Chromebook brand team and market stakeholders, transcreation vendors, creatives, designers, and post production teams

• Managed the transcration process, graphic layout reviews, local VO casting & remote records, and final asset completion and delivery across 12 global markets

• Navigated complex network clearance processes in France, UK, and other regions

• Introduced quarterly forecasting to scale resources and negotiate efficient rates

• Trained additional producers and onboarded a Technical Designer

• Transitioned all adaptation and finishing workflows to fully remote during COVID