Are you one of those brave souls who consume video content without subtitles, or do you need captions to follow the important dialogues? If you have seen captions on YouTube videos, Netflix shows, or any other type of video content, you might already know that they are a textual transcript of a video’s content, including dialogues, music, and sound effects.
But did you know that there are different types of captions? The most common types are open and closed captions. While their functionality is generally the same, they differ in the way they are delivered.
Closed captions (CC) are everywhere, helping you comprehend dialogues in noisy environments. In comparison, open captions are often included in the videos to provide an inclusive viewing experience. Let’s explore their differences in greater detail!
What is Globalization?
Globalization simply means to produce a service or product for a global audience. This process allows businesses to expand their operations beyond their borders. Unlike localization, globalization is all about finding a common ground. It is about creating a service or product that clicks with millions of people across different cultures, countries, and continents.
Globalization gives you a worldwide platform and increases your appeal as a trusted brand. However, to sell global products or services, you need local knowledge. This is where localization comes in! Globalization and localization go hand in hand, especially if you seek long-term success.
Pros
- Larger customer base
- Potential for higher profit
- Global brand recognition
- Access to new markets and talent
- Helps to spread technology and innovation
Cons
- Economic and compliance challenges
- Linguistic and cultural barriers
- Higher competition
- Theft and piracy issues
- Risk of cultural mishaps & misunderstandings
What is Localization?
Localization simply means giving a local look to your global product or service. This process helps you penetrate newer markets by adapting to local culture. Businesses use localization to draw the attention of people in a specific location.
Localization is all about making your content relevant to the people. It is about communicating with them in their own language and making them realize that you understand their culture, customs, and traditions. This process is more than just a simple translation! It includes adapting every element of your product/service to match the local customs, including currency, dates, visual elements, and more.
Pros
- You can turn them on or off, depending on your circumstances
- They often include multiple language options
- Easy to edit because they exist as a separate file
Cons
- High risk of inaccurate translation
- Inconsistent voice or brand messaging
- High chance of misrepresentation
Difference between Globalization and Localization
If you are a content creator, you should understand the key differences between closed and open captions and the requirements of various platforms to satisfy the needs of your target audience. You can add closed captions to your YouTube videos and empower your audience to turn them on or off according to their needs.
On the other hand, you can use open captions on platforms that restrict closed captions, like Instagram, to provide a more equitable viewing experience to deaf or hard-of-hearing audiences.
Usually, content creators and producers use open captions to reach a diverse audience, including people with hearing disabilities. Hence, they are a common sight in movie theaters, allowing viewers to understand the important plot points of a movie.
Besides content creators, event producers, researchers, and foreign artists collaborate with professional captioning services to improve their engagements. These services provide real-time captions for live events and seminars so the audience can actively participate in the live event and understand the content. Although open captions improve the visibility of content creators and producers, they can also be quite distracting to neurodiverse viewers.
| Differences | Globalization | Localization |
| Scope | Creating a more inter-connected world | Meeting the needs of a specific local audience |
| Objectives | To foster collaboration among different countries | To provide a more culturally relevant experience |
| Target Audience | Global audience | Specific demographics |
| Adaptation Approach | Standardization of products | Customization of products |
| Market Reach | Wide range of audiences | Limited to a specific location |
| Language | Translation of content into a universal language | Translation of content into a specific local language |
| Cultural Nuances | May overlook some local cultural nuances | Considers local customs and traditions |
| Costs & Resources | Cost-efficient process | Requires significant investment |
Scope
Globalization has a broader scope, helping you go beyond borders and fostering a more interconnected world. In contrast, localization caters to specific demographics, focusing on their culture, traditions, and practices.
Objectives
Globalization’s primary goal is to share knowledge and technology. Additionally, this approach promotes economic growth by fostering better communication and collaboration among different nations and cultures. In comparison, localization aims to improve user experience by adapting products and services to a specific market.
Target Audience
Although localization and globalization complement each other, their target audience is different. Localization has a limited audience, usually restricted to a particular region. On the other hand, globalization frees you from language and geographical restrictions, allowing more people to use your services. However, localization is always a part of the globalization strategy for the much-needed local touch that promotes global products among local audiences.
Adaptation Approach
Globalization takes a standardized approach and focuses on finding similar interests to create a one-size-fits-all product or service. In contrast, localization provides customized solutions to get the locals on board. It adapts various products and services to the local context, providing a personalized experience.
Market Reach
Globalization caters to a larger audience because it focuses on the standardization of products or services. This process uses universal languages and formats so that more people across different countries and continents can use your product or service. On the other hand, localization has a limited market reach since it tailors products or services to the specific preferences of a particular market.
Language
Since the main approach of globalization is standardization, this process uses a universal language, often English, to communicate with a larger audience. In fact, this approach has popularized the English language in several industries, such as technology, science, and finance. In comparison, localization focuses on linguistic diversity, translating content into local languages and dialects of the target demographic.
Cultural Nuances
As for cultural nuances, localization meticulously focuses on understanding the target audience’s culture. This process ensures that the content, imagery, design elements, and messaging align with the local norms, customs, and traditions. In contrast, globalization prioritizes uniformity and often overlooks local cultural nuances. Therefore, this strategy usually relies on generic content, imagery, and messaging.
Costs & Resources
Globalization typically offers cost-effective solutions. The strategy may require a high initial investment, but it allows businesses to reduce the cost of customization through consistency and standardization. This also enables the companies to allocate the resources more efficiently.
In contrast, localization requires a significant budget and resources for tailored and targeted messaging. This process includes investment for market research, translation, and transcreation and relies on industry experts to meet local needs.
Examples - Globalization vs Localization
Global brands like Apple, Samsung, McDonalds, KFC, and more use a combination of localization and globalization to sell their products or services. Let’s take a look at how some of these popular global brands use these strategies in detail.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s globalization strategy highly depends on localization. This American fast-food brand currently has more than 41,800 restaurants in over 100 countries. It did not achieve this global success overnight! It involves years of hard work and an effective marketing strategy.
McDonald’s enjoys global recognition by partnering with local entrepreneurs who perfectly understand the tastes and preferences of their target audience. As a result, each country has a customized McDonald’s menu tailored to the locals’ tastes.
For example, McDonald’s sells potato or paneer (cottage cheese) burgers in India instead of beef because the cow is considered a sacred animal by most Indians. Similarly, you can only find teriyaki burgers at McDonald’s in Japan. In short, McDonald’s is a top global brand because it continuously adapts to changing food trends and local customs.
Netflix
Netflix’s globalization strategy also heavily depends on localization. Instead of trying to enter all markets simultaneously, the business initially localized its services to the neighboring markets. After that, Netflix rapidly expanded its services to more locations.
Today, Netflix is one of the leading streaming platforms in over 190 countries, offering thousands of localized TV shows, movies, and originals to millions of viewers worldwide. Netflix works with some of the best linguistic professionals to make its shows more accessible via subtitles, quality voice-overs, and dubbing. Besides translation, the platform allows you to change the display language, providing an easy-to-navigate interface.
In short, Netflix has achieved global fame in such a short span due to the effective combination of globalization and localization approaches. While the platform adapts its content to meet local demands, including adjusting its pricing to the target market, it also incorporates standardized components like consistent templates and branding.
Related Post: Takeaways from Netflix’s Global Success
Summary
Like all the top brands, you can achieve your global dreams through an effective marketing strategy. Localization and globalization are both important approaches for growing your brand. Keep in mind that you don’t have to choose between the two, as it is impossible to achieve globalization without localization and vice versa.
Where globalization helps you overcome geographical restrictions, localization connects you to your target audience. As you begin your localization journey, you start moving towards global recognition. This article has highlighted the differences between these two concepts so you can develop a successful business expansion strategy.
