GMO Research & AI Co., Ltd. implemented VoicePing’s real-time translation functionality at the international conference “ESOMAR Connect,” which they are involved in organizing.
We interviewed Ms. Ito from the Domestic Sales Department’s Sales Planning Division about this use case at a bilingual event containing many technical terms specific to the marketing research industry.
Annual ESOMAR Connect – Conference Co-hosted by Japanese and European Marketing Research Associations
Could you tell us about your role in this event and your usual work responsibilities?
Ms. Ito: Our company operates a marketing research business, providing research services such as online surveys and interviews. I belong to the Sales Planning Division of the Domestic Sales Department, and I’m responsible for marketing activities such as acquiring new customer leads and lead nurturing.
Could you tell us about the content of this event and what role you played?
Ms. Ito: This event is separate from our company’s marketing activities, but it’s an event jointly hosted by the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) and the Japan Marketing Research Association (JMRA). Our company handles the operations because our vice president serves as the Japan representative of ESOMAR. Within that context, I was responsible for overall event coordination and online streaming coordination this year.
Are these kinds of events irregular?
Ms. Ito: Similar activities include seminars and webinars for lead generation and nurturing, as well as event exhibitions, but this kind of self-organized event including overseas participants is basically only this event once a year.
Pricing and Technical Term Support as Deciding Factors – Background of VoicePing Implementation
Could you tell us about the background and reasons for implementing VoicePing?
Ms. Ito: This ESOMAR Connect event was a conference and networking format event, with about two English-speaking presenters. Among the participants, there were not only Japanese speakers but also English speakers, so we needed language support through translation tools or interpreters.
Originally, another translation subtitle tool was a candidate, but the pricing didn’t fit our budget. We also tried other translation subtitle tools, but their translation accuracy was low, so while searching for a service that balanced both pricing and accuracy, we found VoicePing.
Was the main deciding factor for choosing VoicePing having reasonable accuracy while fitting the budget?
Ms. Ito: Yes, that point became the biggest deciding factor. In addition to that, there’s the translation dictionary function – the technical term registration feature. Since this event uses many technical terms, I felt this function was suitable.
Large Screen Simultaneous Display of Presenter Video, Materials, and Subtitles – Achieving Unity Between On-site and Online
How specifically did you use it?
Ms. Ito: In the conference format, presenters stood in front, and there were large screens on both sides, displaying three types of content together: presenter materials, presenter video, and translation subtitles.
So both on-site and online participants could see the same screen?
Ms. Ito: That’s correct, exactly as you understand.
“No Need for Interpreters” – Participant Feedback: Translation Subtitle Tool is Sufficient
What was the actual response?
Ms. Ito: Regarding the actual response, while the translation subtitle content wasn’t perfect, I think it was sufficiently practical. However, from customer feedback, there were some comments that the timing of translation reflection – the lag – was slightly slow.
Were you able to resolve the technical term issues you felt before implementation?
Ms. Ito: While it wasn’t completely resolved, when we asked participants in a survey what they thought would be necessary for translation and interpretation support in future similar events, many responded with presenter materials in both Japanese and English versions plus translation subtitle tools, with few responses for interpreters. So functionally, translation subtitle tools seem sufficient.
However, as I mentioned earlier, it would be nice if the display lag could be improved.
Actually, that point has been significantly improved in recent updates. We’d be happy if you could try it again.
Ms. Ito: Is that so? I’d definitely like to try it.
“Japanese-English Switching was Very Smooth” – Broadcasting Agency Also Praised the Operability
Are there any other improvement points or requests for VoicePing?
Ms. Ito: The actual operation for this event wasn’t done by me but by broadcasting agency staff, but from observing their operation, the Japanese-English switching seemed very smooth. I got the impression that it was user-friendly as an application.
Next Year: QR Codes for Individual Devices – Vision with Multilingual Support in Mind
With the possibility of co-hosting events with overseas companies again next year and beyond, what are your future prospects?
Ms. Ito: Regarding translation and interpretation, we want to apply lessons learned from this year going forward. This year’s venue was elongated, so displaying translations on screens made them somewhat hard to see. We plan to implement again next year, and we might use your company’s services. Instead of projecting on screens, we’d like to provide a more visible and convenient format for customers by having them view translations on their personal devices like smartphones.
That’s the QR code method for viewing translations that we explained in the briefing.
Ms. Ito: Exactly. This is partly due to the presenters’ influence, but we had many overseas participants compared to previous years. We also mentioned language support including subtitles in our guidance, so I think that was an influence. I believe there were people who hadn’t participated before due to language barriers, so by creating such an environment, we’d like to increase participation not just from Japanese participants but also from overseas participants.
With VoicePing, you can use additional languages without extra charges, so we hope you’ll consider it again.
Ms. Ito: With individual device viewing, participants could view in not just Japanese and English but other languages too. This time, due to circumstances, we only supported English, but we could support Chinese, Spanish, and other languages.
Summary
In GMO Research & AI’s case, VoicePing’s real-time translation functionality played a major role at an international conference containing many technical terms specific to the marketing research industry. Through cost-effectiveness, technical term registration functionality, and operational simplicity, they achieved highly satisfactory event management for participants.
Additionally, enhanced language support created the secondary effect of increased overseas participation, and we received specific improvement suggestions for future continued use.
VoicePing continues to remove language barriers in global business communication, providing valuable information and communication opportunities to more people.
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