Less is not more: Why translation alone is not enough for global video and audio

Challenge

Don’t you wonder sometimes, about sound and vision?

The short-form video is the runaway winner for most marketers, whether they’re courting domestic or global markets, and that trend is rock-solid across most industries. But while businesses worry endlessly about the visual elements of their multimedia messages, sound is often an afterthought once a project has been earmarked for localization.

In view of this fact, it’s no surprise that the performance of the associated products or services is disappointing. And crazy simple though it sounds, this disappointment can often be whittled down to one factor: a bad, or non-existent, decision about the audio. Somebody didn’t ask who, or what, was speaking the carefully chosen words accompanying those breath-taking video productions when they were launched across global markets. 

Solution

Localization expertise with ease

It’s not just a buzz word, it’s a real thing, and ‘just’ translation won’t cut it – (almost) everyone knows that now. Once, full localization was a costly consideration, now – with AI-driven tools – it’s all a lot cheaper, so there’s actually no excuse. But the age-old expression still rings true: there’s no such thing as a free dinner. In other words, what you assume is free can cost you plenty in the end, if you don’t take a good, hard look at what you’re getting into first.

The great news is that this problem about audio and multimedia content can be fixed with a comprehensive localization workflow – just follow the steps, and voilà! We’ll even give you the steps, because we’re nice like that.

The steps

Ready for global audiovisual success?

Let’s break down a typical end-to-end workflow for a global multimedia campaign into six clearly laid out steps. Follow these and your worldwide reach could go into the stratosphere.

1. Global concept & source script creation

Your global multimedia campaign needs a solid foundation. Marketers and content teams kick the process off, crafting the core idea, designing the narrative arc, and writing the source-language script which will be the blueprint for all localized versions.

But this isn’t just about calling to your muse; you should have clear ideas about the key messages that will anchor your campaign. These core concepts must be aligned with your brand’s strategic positioning and flexible enough to resonate across diverse cultural contexts. You’ll also need to define clear objectives for your campaign, and identify your target audiences across markets. In other words, this step will include some serious in-country market research.

2. Brand review & voice strategy

This is where you have to make choices, and some of them might be tough. This step will help you determine the right voice approach for each market and channel combination. If you’re interested, we’ve developed a risk matrix to help make those decisions. But you can do your evaluating the old-fashioned way too. Basically, just calculate how each piece of content measures against your established criteria (such as brand impact, visibility, lifespan, and intent) to decide whether AI or human voices will work best for each market/channel combo.

Here you can start thinking about the voice profiles that will literally be the voice your brand across the world. Guided by your brand guidelines and informed by local market expectations, you’ll need to consider gender, tone, accent, and vocal qualities. Remember: this isn’t just production details, this will be about making strategic decisions that directly impact your target market’s trust, relatability, and inclusivity.

3. Translation & transcreation

You created your source script with love and care for your launch in your home territory. Now you’ve got to transcreate the script for your target markets with the same amount of love and care – each script has to be recreated to belong to the region you’re aiming it at. Sure, for straightforward informational content, direct translation may be enough, but for creative or emotionally-driven campaigns, transcreation is, well, essential

Make sure you refer to your style guides and glossaries, otherwise you risk fragmenting your brand voice across markets. Cultural consulting at this stage is also worth investing in to really understand your local audiences, because what reads well on paper may sound clunky when recorded. In short, voice and script must work in harmony, and to get it right for all target markets, you should go the extra mile for every single one of them.

4. Voice production

You’ve already made the big decision on whether to go with human or AI for your script, now you’ve reached the audition stage. Ideally, you need to hire experienced casting directors and voice producers to audition talent, evaluate vocal qualities against your brand profile, and select actors who can authentically represent your brand in each market.

Direction during recording sessions is equally critical – actors need guidance to understand the emotional arc of your content, the emphasis on key messages, and the pacing that will keep audiences engaged. If you go down the AI voice route, you’ll need upfront configuration, like setting up pronunciation rules, custom dictionaries, and prosody controls to handle product names and technical jargon correctly, then rigorously test your chosen synthetic voices. You should test output for each language individually, as the results can be wildly different across linguistic contexts.

5. Quality assurance

This is review that goes beyond just accuracy checks. Not only do you have to check translations are correct and terminology aligns with your brand’s approved glossaries, you need to ensure that all your key messages and localized references or adaptations come through clearly. Also, you can evaluate pacing, emphasis, and cultural fit.

Don’t forget the technical side of things. There needs to be consistent volume levels across all language versions for a start, and that voiceover timing matches on-screen action. And you’ll need to check that audio is properly mixed and mastered, that synchronization with visual elements (such as subtitles) is spot on, and that file formats meet the specifications required for each distribution channel. This is your last chance to catch any pesky bugs and slip ups that could turn out to be so embarrassing once it goes live.

6. Measurement & feedback loop

There is always more work to do. Once your video is launched, you need to learn how it is being received across all its target markets. You should measure KPIs which will ultimately help calculate your ROI further down the line. Ideally, you’ll track engagement rates, monitor completion rates, and gather qualitative feedback from local markets to get a more complete picture.

There’s also A/B testing: compare performance between human and AI voices on similar content types to get a real understanding of how each is received across different market sectors, and whether voice choices, translation quality, or cultural adaptation need refinement. Lastly, create a feedback loop to learn what works where, and what your audiences really think about your multimedia messaging – your brand depends on it.

And the takeaway is…

All very doable, and all very necessary if you want your multimedia campaign to bring in the metrics you’re looking for. But you’re right, it is a lot of work. Which is why the smart thing to do is to get some professional support for all, or at least some of the steps. And guess what – we can help. Or advise, or just be a friendly ear.