Globalization: How It Influences the Event Ecosystem

Managing global audiences is one of the main challenges of running any global event. You need to provide consistent end-to-end language experience for your global audiences. This goes beyond providing interpretations or subtitles for sessions at an event.

You must demonstrate to stakeholders and decision-makers to think about translating the content from the beginning of the customer engagement and interactions to the very end. So, how do you begin the process of event globalization?

In this article, we will look at how Dell successfully globalized its annual global customer and partner conference with help from Welocalize.

This event was held in Las Vegas and involved 6,000+ in-person attendees and thousands of virtual attendees from locations worldwide, including China, Japan, and Korea.

What are the common problems of event globalization?

While it is a simple concept, the globalization consideration comes as an afterthought, and more time and budget should be given to execute it properly. More often than not, the language scope is decided by those who may not fully understand the value.

It's essential to consider the end-to-end customer journey and experience and how each milestone plays a significant role in the success of your global event.

The customer journey typically includes an email invite, followed by web pages with agendas, session descriptions, and registration, marcom assets, and confirmation emails. During the event, a customer would use a mobile app or onsite support like a help desk and onsite signage and would usually receive a post-event thank you note and survey.

For each touchpoint, you must consider what content needs to be localized for your global audiences. Dell had an experience where a contact in Japan reached out to say their customer knows Dell is offering interpretation, but they don't know how to access it.

This was because the information was in English, although the session was available in Japanese.

So, before you begin localizing your content for your event, take the time to map the customer journey to see what difficulties your global customers may face when trying to access the content they are looking for before, during, and after your event.

What are some localization components and moving parts involved in a global event?

Let's take a closer look at the moving parts of Dell's global customer and partner conference. Welocalize ran a multi-day hybrid international event with Dell in Vegas involving virtual and in-person audiences plus multiple stakeholders.

At the event, Dell covered simultaneous interpretation and translation of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean using a remote simultaneous interpretation platform for both in-person and virtual audiences.

For the in-person audience, Dell covered the simultaneous interpretation of two keynotes, two trailblazer sessions, two media sessions, and three customer meetings across three days. Everything was live and in person, except all the interpretation was done remotely using a remote simultaneous interpretation platform.

For the virtual audience, Dell had a broadcasting event later in the day with a replay of the keynote. Dell's original plan was to use the recording of the interpretation from earlier in the day, but at the last minute, Dell discovered a technical limitation with a content management system and could not replay the recordings in multiple languages.

Dell quickly changed the plan and asked interpreters to interpret the session later in the day. In addition to interpretation, Dell also needed to provide the translation of the transcripts a few hours after the session.

The transcriptions were machine-generated, and Dell Legal reviewed the script. Then the team ran it through machine translation with a very light post-edit to eliminate any critical errors.

As you can see, there were many moving pieces that all contributed to the success of the event.

We all know that at live events, not everything goes as planned. And this example from Dell shows that you need to be able to adapt quickly.

Another factor that helped Dell overcome obstacles was Welocalize's technical team, who were on site, and the localization team, who were virtually standing by to accommodate all the technical or time-sensitive language needs during the three-day event.

One key takeaway Welocalize’s team took from the event was how strong their connection was with their stakeholders and events teams.

Many brands see language as a back-end role, but that's not the case for Dell. Everyone from the help desk to the EBC teams knew who the globalization team was, which played a crucial role in the event's success.

What are the success factors for event globalization?

For any globalized event, there are two core success factors. And they are:

Trust

Planning a large-scale event and working closely with internal and external teams like Welocalize's localization and interpretation teams under pressure helps you build a special rapport and relationships.

All parties are working to achieve a common goal and everyone has a role to play to make the event a success. Building trust among cross-functional teams and understanding everyone’s expertise, knowing who to go to for different elements, are some of the critical success factors from tactical event organization and execution perspective.

Globalization Needs to Be at the Core of Event Management

From a more strategic globalization perspective, the most important success factor is for globalization to be a core part of the event management ecosystem.

Globalization is not only a part of execution but also a part of planning from beginning to end.

For instance, globalization should have a voice in establishing the success measures for a global audience. That will allow you to programmatically offer the right solutions or technologies that are fit for purpose and strengthen usability, accessibility, and inclusion in the overall global customer journey.

That also means that globalization should be part of the overall schedule so there's sufficient time to select the right interpreters, maximize their performance, and train the speakers so that their messages are interpreted flawlessly.

It would be best if you made sure that the language support plays a part in achieving the customer’s business objectives. Including the globalization voice as a part of the management ecosystem is critical in developing a successful experience for the audience.

Key Takeaways for the Globalization and Localization Community

Looking at Dell's event, you should consider two main takeaways when planning a future global event.

The Importance of End-to-End Customer Journey

Before your event, create a customer journey map with all the content and communication touchpoints—Pre-event, during, and post-event. Find the minimum viable solution to help improve the customer experience.

For instance, if you're offering interpretation for an event, ensure that some of the communications and information are available in the same language set. At a minimum, the audience knows what is being offered in their language.

Be an Advocate for Inclusion and Accessibility

It's so important for globalizers to voice the importance of inclusion and accessibility, particularly from the language perspective, and offer strategic recommendations on the solutions.

Simply put, if your global audience doesn't know what is available in their language and how to access it, they will not be able to utilize the interpretation. And if the team needs more expertise or capacity, partner with a company like Welocalize to help strategize the globalization solution for future events.

Learn More at GALA Conference

At GALA 2023 Dublin, Dell and Welocalize took to the stage and presented the end-to-end experience, from client and LSP perspectives, on what is needed to deliver consistent language experience at every touchpoint for all attendees at global events. Click on the session link for more information: “Total Event Globalization: Interpreting Is Just the Beginning”.