Subtitles are a wonderful thing. A lingual bridge that means content ceases to be limited to its country of origin. Also, just think of all the wonderfully ponderous European dramas we'd have missed out on without them? Subtitles can be found in all forms of media; from the big budget Hollywood blockbuster to the humble little indie flick, and from the critically acclaimed cult comedy show to the latest forward-thinking video game. But one area in which subtitles are generally lacking is in advertising, which tends to rely more on universal visual storytelling. Still, there are often subtle bits and bobs lost in translation with even the most visceral TV spot, so sometimes subtitles might help get the point of an ad across.
“We’ve ripped up the rulebook with our pioneering cloud-based service, to make it easier for brands and agencies to access new international markets”
This is obviously something localisation and digital distribution provider ZOO Digital believe, as the company recently announced the launch of its new Subtitling for TV Ads service. Furthermore, with six major clients already on board including Zebra Worldwide, Telly Traffic, Founded, iris and Creature of London, the innovative cloud-based service is already proving invaluable in the world of fast-turnaround adland subtitling. ZOO has already earned a reputation for providing captioning and subtitling services into more than 55 languages for some of the world’s leading film and TV companies, including Apple, BBC, Warner Bros, Netflix and HBO. Now some of the UK’s major advertising agencies and household brands are seeing the benefits of the groundbreaking service, which allows their adverts to reach new international audiences around the world.
It’s the use of revolutionary cloud technology that is having such an impact on the industry. This offers a highly efficient way of producing top quality and compliant subtitles and captions in any language or format, including TV, YouTube, Vimeo or Instagram. It also allows global teams to work together online and provides a secure cloud store so clients can have instant access, anytime, anywhere to all their existing and subtitled assets. Captioning or subtitling is a written onscreen transcription of the audio in a segment of video content, designed to help people who can’t hear or understand what’s being said, which may then be translated into different languages. Often used for films and TV programmes, subtitles are now increasingly being used in advertising. Televisions in public areas of hotels, airports, bars and gyms commonly display captions. Further, with 8.94 million people (14%) hard of hearing in the UK and 4 million people in the UK who speak English as a second language, this opens up a wealth of opportunities for advertisers and brands to connect with new audiences.
“ZOO’s connected approach in the cloud is helping us transform the way we work and the price points we achieve for clients”
Luke Hammersley, CEO of Zebra Worldwide, said: “Creating and adapting content across media channels in the volumes that we do, speed and quality are everything. ZOO’s connected approach in the cloud is helping us transform the way we work and the price points we achieve for clients. In short - production is easier and we get to market faster with proven quality transcreation and subtitling support.” Gordon Doran, ZOO President, added: “We’ve ripped up the rulebook with our pioneering cloud-based service, to make it easier for brands and advertising agencies to access new revenue streams and international markets with high quality, highly efficient captioning and subtitling.” Honestly I have yet to see the technology in action myself, but the concept is incredibly encouraging, and the reasoning behind it speaks for itself. Honestly it's one of those rare ideas where I struggle to understand why it's taken this long for a company to really take it by the reigns. Still, better late than never!
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from the dark heart of Kidderminster in the UK.
