CASE STUDIES

Delivering Weather Personalization & Hyper-Localization Worldwide with AccuWeather

100+

languages and dialects

AccuWeather, the world’s largest and fastest growing weather company, maintains a united, singular focus on their core Mission:

“We personalize the weather, so people can improve their lives. Accuweather makes this promise a reality minute-by-minute to users in every location worldwide, in partnership with Rubric”
Inline image
AccuWeather provides weather forecasts with Superior Accuracy™ through smartphones, wired and mobile internet sites at AccuWeather.com, award-winning apps, connected TVs, plus radio, television, newspapers, over 180,000 websites, 24/7 AccuWeather Network cable channel, and more. Accuweather serves over 240 of Fortune 500 companies and thousands more. 
Through their unique global multi-platform capabilities and expansive reach, AccuWeather saves lives, protects businesses and helps people get more from their every day.

The Foundation

AccuWeather’s resounding commitment starts with the most robust, complete weather data. AccuWeather gathers the best and most comprehensive weather data to deliver forecasts with Superior Accuracy™. Forecasts are pinpointed for every location on Earth and extend further ahead than any other source.
With the most complete global real-time and historical data, most robust database of forecast models, most advanced forecast engine globally, and comprehensive validation results, AccuWeather is the most accurate weather company worldwide. 
With over 50 years of experience, clients, partners, and users all over the world rely on the consistent, excellent service and the Superior Accuracy™ that AccuWeather exclusively provides.

Actionable Impact through communications

AccuWeather incorporates the best weather data into the most effective communication presentations-tailored by user location, device, language and dialect-for real-time, actionable impact. 
Importantly, nearly two thirds of AccuWeather.com and AccuWeather app users live outside of the United States. A worldwide digital leader with the #1 mobile weather website in the world, AccuWeather understands the importance of global scale with customization based on cultural preferences and needs.

Why Rubric is a Strategic Partnership

AccuWeather partners with Rubric for global language services, personalizing breaking weather information, news, and updates to provide forecasts in over 100 languages and dialects. 
Rubric helps AccWeather to effectively tailor content to an international audience through localized languages and dialects, in addition to user interfaces and sourcing to fit each market’s needs. With Rubric’s localization expertise, AccuWeather was able to customize the coding and localization of digital assets to “Think Local, Act Local” by country, region and local area, while refining and adding content as languages and preferences continue to evolve.
Utilising their project management capabilities, Rubric also guided AccuWeather through the multilingual design and expansion process. The company worked across the AccuWeather organization to coordinate and orchestrate product localization. AccuWeather project managers worked collaboratively with translators and developers to make sure source code, copy, and interfaces were built correctly across different language markets.
The partnership has demonstrated success, with more people worldwide choosing AccuWeather than ever before, setting new records in digital traffic growth across AccuWeather.com and app platforms through the delivery of relevant, compelling and highly localized weather content and communications.

'We wanted a partner that could offer expertise in localizing content and understanding cultures. A partner that would collaboratively and strategically work with us, not for us. We rely on Rubric to work with our team to offer suggestions, produce the highest quality product, and stand behind their services, providing maximum impact.'

VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGY AT ACCUWEATHER

Distinct Cultural Preferences & Needs:

AccuWeather understands that weather terms vary from country to country and region to region, from the relative meaning of the word “hot” to the way temperatures and dates are displayed. Expressions in English- “It’s hot out today,” for example- become much more complicated in, say, Arabic, where hot weather is clarified by factors like humidity.
Additionally, different languages can display differently on user interfaces, where text could potentially run across dialog boxes or have limited visibility on a device. It is also not so easy to say that there will be a “Chance for a flurry” in Polish, because the translated term- “Prawdopodobieństwo lekkich opadów śniegu”- might be too long to conveniently and effectively display on a mobile app.
Simple translations do not always work, becaused many English weather terms don’t have one-to-one counterparts in other tongues. For example, the Inuit and Yupik languages, with their many dialects, have dozens of ways to express the word “snow.” Some terms can mean wet, heavy snow, while others might mean light, powdery snow. This level of variation is not uncommon across languages, and it can complicate matters for companies that do not take a high level of detail or apply contact in the translation process.
Users can experience the weather first-hand through falling raindrops or shining sunlight; however, the terms people use to understand this weather forecast in advance, allowing them to take action, varies greatly worldwide. 
AccuWeather understands the importance and sophistication of user preferences and needs, continuing to expand and further strengthen localized weather communications to improve peoples’ lives. 

Next level of innovation

AccuWeather’s collaborative partnership with Rubric will deliver a new level of weather personalization and hyper-localization through additional global innovations and enhancements. 
Global expansion initiatives include the addition of unique, breaking news content hyper-localized by area, expansion of pinpointed dialects based on hyper-localized cultural preferences, expanded forecast information with additional detailed weather updates, auto-enhancements to locale-based language and country combinations and preferences, and more. 
Personalizing the weather to improve people’s lives worldwide more effectively and impactfully than ever before.

'Weather affects us all, from parents and business travelers to runners, hikers, and bikers on the go. AccuWeather keeps users informed and safe on any journey through tailored, personalized weather communications in partnership with Rubric.'

TRISH MIKITA
VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGY AT ACCUWEATHER

Find out how Rubric can improve your organization

Our experts are on hand to share their knowledge of translation and localization projects for global organizations. If you have an enquiry about an upcoming project or just simple a question about the industry get us in touch and someone will respond to you as soon as possible.