5 Costly Mistakes Brands Make When Localising Video Content

Video has become the language brands use to connect with the world.

It is how products get explained, stories get told, and trust gets built, long before a customer ever speaks to a human being.

But the moment that video crosses a border, the rules change. A script that lands perfectly in English can confuse, bore, or even alienate an audience somewhere else, not because the idea was wrong, but because the localisation wasn’t built with that audience in mind.

We’ve spent years helping brands turn one piece of content into many, each version sounding like it was made for the people watching it. Along the way, we’ve seen the same handful of mistakes affect otherwise smart, well-funded video campaigns.

Here are five of the most common, what they tend to look like in practice, and how to make sure they never happen to your brand.

#1 Treating translation and localisation as the same thing

Translation changes words from one language to the other but localisation changes meaning, tone and intent from one culture to the other. A video script can be translated word for word and still completely miss its target market.

Imagine an advertisement for a global marketing agency that performed well in English. The humour was dry, the pacing was quick and the call to action felt natural. When the team translated the script directly for the Japanese market, though the words were accurate, the video fell flat and the jokes did not land. Though the tone and warmth were conveyed in the English version of the video, it could be read as unprofessional in markets that expect more formality from a B2B brand.

The fix here isn’t direct translation, but transcreation. Transcreation allows the script to still have the same intent and energy in the new target language. Good transcreation asks what the video is trying to make someone feel and then finds the most natural way to make the audience feel the same.

#2 Choosing subtitles or voice over based on budget and not audience habits

Budget is always an important factor, whether it’s voice over for corporate videos or subtitles for a medical device. But choosing between subtitling and voice over simply based on costs and not on how your audience consumes video content, tends to backfire.

Take a Korean skincare brand expanding its range of products into new European markets specifically targeted for Gen Zs. The marketing team chose to include voice over in the short-form video content but gave subtitling a miss.

Though the videos had the right ad voices that conveyed the mood, tone and overall energy needed for the brand video storytelling, the videos didn’t stop its audience from scrolling or swiping it away from their social feeds.

Video completion rates dropped sharply in those markets, not because the voice or translation was bad, but because the format itself signalled “less interesting” to viewers used to seeing major brands invest in subtitling.

It’s also worth remembering that recent data has shown 61% of 18-24-year-olds prefer watching videos with subtitles even if they fully understand the spoken language.

Audience habits vary enormously by country, content type, and even platform. Some audiences expect subtitling for anything aspirational or premium. Others prefer subtitles because they want to hear the original performance or it is necessary as it makes the content accessible to a wider audience. The right call depends on who you’re trying to reach and what they’re used to, not just what fits the budget.

#3 Ignoring brand voice when adapting scripts

A brand’s voice is one of its most valuable assets, built over years of consistent messaging. Yet it’s often the first thing lost in localisation, because adapting tone takes more care than adapting vocabulary.

Though a brand’s voice can be punchy and playful in its home market, when scripts are localised into another market, it can easily become formal and distant in its messaging. The words and phrases are accurate, but the tone and personality are lost and the brand doesn’t sound like itself anymore.

Protecting brand voice across languages takes more than a style guide handed to a translator. It takes linguists who understand the brand as well as the language, and a process that checks tone and personality, before anything gets launched.

#4 Underestimating how subtitles and lip sync affect comprehension

US video-on-demand and popular anime streaming platform Crunchyroll is unfortunately infamous for its AI-generated subtitles that caused an uproar in several target markets.  

Though the company responded and said the work was not done in-house and has also said it will not be using AI to subtitle or dub its future content, the damage has been done.

Meanwhile, when dubbing is done right, your content crosses borders. But when done incorrectly, your audience will lose interest in the content and instead focus on the dubbing itself. Best practice in video localisation means writing for reading speed, recording for natural sync, and testing with real viewers before launch, not just checking that the translation is accurate.

#5 Leaving localisation until after the video is finished

This is the mistake with the biggest ripple effect as it shapes every other decision on the list. When localisation is treated as the final step after assets have gone through rounds of amends and approvals, it causes brands to end up working around constraints that could have been avoided from day one.

When creating your video assets, always bring in your localisation team or partner during the scripting stage. This allows experts to identify and flag issues while time and budget still allows it. After visuals are locked and budget spent – the options for quick turnarounds become harder to navigate.

It also means the voice over, subtitling and dubbing for your videos are carefully considered from the start, rather than improvised as the project progresses.

Need a localisation partner for your next project?

With over 40 years of experience helping brands connect across languages and cultures, we’ve learned that the best localisation doesn’t just avoid mistakes.

It actively strengthens the message, because it forces real clarity about what the video is meant to achieve and who it’s meant to reach.

We can help your content cross borders, just drop us an email or use the quote form below.

FAQs

What’s the difference between video localisation and video translation? + –

Translation converts the words in a script from one language to another. Localisation goes further, adapting tone, pacing, cultural references, humour, and format choices like subtitling or dubbing, so the video genuinely connects with a new audience rather than simply being understandable to them.

How do I know whether to use subtitling or voice over for my video? + –

It depends on your audience’s habits, your content type, and your goals. Markets with strong dubbing traditions often expect it for premium or aspirational content, while other audiences prefer subtitles to hear the original performance.

When should I involve a localisation partner in the video production process? + –

As early as possible, ideally during scripting. Bringing localisation expertise in before the video is shot or animated helps you avoid wordplay, visual references, or pacing choices that are difficult or expensive to adapt later.

How do you keep brand voice consistent across so many languages? + –

We pair native linguists with deep familiarity with your brand voice and tone of voice guidelines, and we review every adaptation for personality and tone, not only accuracy. The goal is always a video that sounds like your brand, no matter who’s watching.