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Localizing Corporate Videos: How to Retain Engagement
Categories:
In localization, there are way more things that can go wrong than can go right. Accept the fact you'll need a checklist:
- Immediate Value
- Know your Audience
- Translation vs Adaption
- Orality vs Grammar
There are projects that seem easier to localize, like eLearning, manuals and purely informative content, but Corporate and Business videos are not that easy, be it for internal use, within teams and financial boards, or external, on the social media or the company's website. And that's because Corporate videos must provide an immediate value, not just information.
Projects with high perception of value
- Corporate videos
- Long product presentation videos
- Webinars
- Documentaries
In general, those projects have a video attached to it, can range from 100-200 words to... 2k, 4k, and even 7k words, and are usually localized to the most spoken languages in the world, depending on the desired markets for that project.
Not always the audience/user/consumer/customer/viewer/listener has a predisposition to consume and interact with the content. If the video will be used in a presentation, the team must go through the meeting. On the other hand, if it is a presentation for an investor, a webinar for users, or a promoted product presentation on a landing page, you must impress value immediately to engage the prospect or lead.
1. Continental or Locale Audience?
Knowing your audience is the key to making the right localization choices.
Connecting widely with localized content: If the audience is widely spread and you're targeting a large country or area (for example, a Corporate video for LatAm, or a Product Presentation for the Brazilian market), go deep on the furthest emotion/aspect/element they have in common. Look for that thing that makes them be one as a group, or find the biggest group within them, without necessarily polarizing. Here, don't split to conquer.
Another tactic is to use fluid or blurred accents. Hiring a professional voice over artist that can represent many slightly varying accents and incorporate the region without sounding like they are from a particular area, is an effective trick. That is why the transatlantic accent, both for English (USA-UK) and Portuguese (BR-PT) is one of the most popular for projects simultaneously aimed at both the American and European markets.
Connecting locally with locale transcreation: If the audience is narrow, limited to a small location, speaks a specific dialect, or even has an extremely contrasting culture, it’s essential to make this audience feel seen – They will appreciate it.
Transcreation, rather than translation, is how you represent their culture accurately. This is when a word-for-word translation won’t do; creatively translating the content to best retain the original message and tone is necessary. Some words and phrases are untranslatable in other languages.
This may polarise those outside your target audience, but It’s a choice you will be confronted by: Do you want to engage deeply with that local audience, or do you want to please a larger market with a more general translation?
2. Translation or Adaptation?
Some projects only require translation, while others deserve a more creative approach.
Native translators: Usually, a local native translator will spot mistakes in automated translation and any other issues that can compromise the branding and the communication of value within their culture, and they will adapt the translation until it becomes Transcreation.
In other words: they’ll create a version where the message is clearer in their language than a word-for-word translation would be. However, synchronization and oral fluidness are challenging to spot when the translator isn’t specifically considering the voiceover medium.
It’s not just about what is said; it’s also about how it sounds.
Necessary Adaptation: The original script in its initial language can create problems for the clarity of a localized project. The reason for this is that the brand and its values are usually very clear and habitual to the brand and its usual audience, and it’s difficult to put themselves in the position of a new market that doesn’t know the company. This audience will therefore require a bigger hook and some scriptwriting services, not just translation.
Benefit of a local team: the team will spot general mistakes, and branding issues, but they won't worry too much about synchronization and clarity, because the values are so clear and habitual in their minds that honing the message for people without their context might not a concern. So issues with clarity and synchronization, if not spot beforehand, may show up later, after the VO recording or after publising and first metrics analysis.
Other issues that can appear are lengthy phrases, oversized scripts and words that don’t sound good.
These problems are expected of written translation because oral fluidity, synchronization and sound perception are only considered when the translator specializes in voiceover translation. This is the key to localized content sounding good.
In short, whether you have a local team or not: trust the voice over professional to proofread.
AI & Mistakes: It's comprehensible if you decide to use AI to create a draft. Even human translators use CAT tools, openly or hiddenly. However, AI traits can be evident and destroy the perception of value in projects such as corporate videos, product explainers, promos, and branding content. For this, a translator and/or proofreader must also work on the copy to give it the human touch.
Choosing an open and resourceful translator freelancer and clearly communicating the value proposition and brand guidelines is usually enough. For more demanding projects, you'll also benefit from adding a second layer of revision by relying on the voice actors’ judgment to spot a mistake or improve the orality of the copy – Who better than a native speaker with no biased view to share a perspective from outside the company’s internal context?
3. Orality or Grammar?
The project’s medium will guide whether grammar or sound is the priority.
Silent devaluation: your message might be decreasing in value, stage by stage, without you noticing unless a translator or proofreader is hired to work further on the copy and make it sound pleasurable, comfortable, and natural.
After all, many translators usually don't care about timing and fluidness or branding and will put their attention on grammar. In other words, translators not considering the voiceover medium will prioritize grammar over what sounds good and as a result, the script might not look wrong, but it's also not as great and valuable as it could be.
It’s challenging to find a freelance translator who understands the context of the copy and is willing to go the extra mile. Medium and style should also be considered, as this will retain the value and quality of the project for its audience.
Solution within reach: Notify the voice artist that it possible that he/she finds the script and the phrases to be too long, so it's important to plan ahead for the synchronization. If you trust the voice talent and chose a truly professional, give him/her permission to adjust oral discomforts if it happens to be noted while recording.
Of course, grammar and punctuation have a reason to exist on the paper/screen, but it’s not helpful if it works against the oral message. Most punctuation will make sense while recording, but it should not constrain the oratory.
Tip: Give specific or general guidelines for reading acronyms, foreign words, and industry-specific terminology whenever possible.
Take Home Point
The discussed projects must always show immediate value for those receiving the message and keep infusing value throughout. It’s a matter of nurturing the perception of value and over-delivering whenever possible.
Remember: nobody consumes information detached from value, so make your presence remarkable and unique for those you want to engage with.
Immersive, bespoke projects
- Games & Apps
- Animation & Cartoons
- Advertising & Commercials
- VR
An immersive project can be a 15-sec advert or a video game that take dozens of hours to zero in. It's not about lenght. It's about intensity.
If your project is immersed in it's own reality, carries a sophisticated idea or serves a specific niche, every aspect of it must be magnetic. See this list of elements that make your project be immersive, intentional, enticing, inviting, original and native.
Faster, simpler projects
- eLearning
- Training
- IVR
- Corporate Education
Now, if your project fall into the "Informational Projects" category, follow these steps to improve your localization processes immediately.
This Amanda's article was in part first published on Voquent's blog on 3rd. July, 2023.