It is said that soccer (football) is the world’s game. It’s the “beautiful” game. A game you could watch with commentary in any language. It is truly international. Remember the first time you heard the hum of the vuvuzela?
The world is getting smaller and smaller every day. By small, that means “close”. International business is more common than ever. You have customers in parts of the world that are a day ahead, 7 hours behind, using different currencies, speaking different languages. How can you possibly connect with such a vast global market? You have to speak the international language.
Video can help you do just that – in a few ways.
First, the visual elements of video can help you tell your story, even without words. In much the same way as a Canadian tuning in to a German broadcast of a World Cup game. If you listened on the radio, or read about it in the newspaper, you wouldn’t know what “Fallrückzieher” meant. But, if you watch the game on TV, you’d see that “Fallrückzieher” was an incredible aerial flip kick that netted the most incredible goal to win the game. You see the play, and the crowd going wild. What you see tells the story better than any number of words. A tip: if you know you are going to translate your video, avoid using colloquial language, cultural references, or idioms in your script. These are things that very often do not translate well across languages! Not everyone will “get” the reference to Star Wars or Rob Ford.
Second, you might consider getting your video translated into the languages of your target markets. If you are desperately trying to break into the Japanese market, have your video translated with a voice over speaking Japanese. Here in Canada, bi-lingual (English and French) videos are very common. With so many customers in the United States, a Spanish translation is often requested. We can translate your script into many different languages, and provide you with voiceover options. Spanish? Italian? Chinese? We can find voice over talent to speak the language of your customers.
As the world comes together to watch the “beautiful game” this month, think about how you can reach untapped markets that seem so close, but yet so far.
