Localizing Product Videos for Turkey: Subtitles, Voice-over or a Local Reshoot?

The decision is usually made on budget and should be made on what carries the meaning in the original. If the value sits in the demonstration — the product being used, the result being shown — subtitles often carry it. If it sits in a person speaking to camera, subtitles strip out most of what made the asset work and voice-over becomes the floor. If it sits in the setting, the casting or the use case, no amount of language work will fix it and a local reshoot is the cheaper answer, not the expensive one.

There is a second input foreign brands rarely factor in. Where the video is a commercial advertisement, Turkey’s Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation sets specific requirements for on-screen text: subtitles must be readable in speed and size, kept to a minimum, held on screen on a defined timing formula, and placed within the safe text area with sufficient contrast. A global asset subtitled by a vendor to international conventions frequently fails those rules. This article covers how to make the choice, what the regulation requires, how Turkish script length changes the timing, and the workflow that avoids the usual failure.

Table of Contents

• Start with what carries the meaning
• Subtitles: when they work and when they signal distance
• What the advertising regulation requires from on-screen text
• Voice-over and dubbing
• When a local reshoot is the cheaper option
• Turkish script length and why timing breaks
• A workflow that avoids the usual failure
• Budgeting the decision
• Common mistakes
• Frequently asked questions

Start with what carries the meaning

Run the original asset once with the sound off and once with your eyes closed. Whichever pass still communicates the product is the one carrying the meaning, and that determines the localisation route.

What carries the asset	Route	What you are actually buying
Demonstration, product in use, visible result	Subtitles, plus localised on-screen text	Comprehension, cheaply
A person explaining, narration, emotional delivery	Turkish voice-over	The persuasion the original relied on
Setting, casting, cultural situation, use case	Local reshoot	Relevance that language cannot add
On-screen text, interface, packaging in frame	Re-edit or partial reshoot	A version that does not look foreign

Two refinements make the table usable in practice.

Most assets split. A three-minute brand film usually contains a demonstration section that subtitles handle and a founder-to-camera section that they gut. Localising at asset level when the right unit is the scene is how brands end up paying for a full dub of footage that needed none.

The audience changes the threshold. A B2B buyer evaluating industrial equipment will work through subtitles for information they need. A consumer scrolling a feed will not. The same asset can therefore justify different routes for different placements, which is a budgeting insight rather than a complication.

Subtitles: when they work and when they signal distance

Subtitles are the right answer more often than purists admit and the wrong one more often than finance teams hope. They work when the viewer has a reason to concentrate and when the picture is doing the explaining.

Where subtitles hold up:

• Demonstration and how-to content, where the hands and the product carry the sequence.
• Technical and B2B material, where the viewer is evaluating rather than browsing and is often watching without sound in an office.
• Short social placements, where sound-off viewing is common and on-screen text is a native convention rather than an accommodation.
• Interviews and testimonials, where hearing the original speaker is part of the credibility — dubbing a real customer frequently costs more trust than it buys.

Where subtitles signal that the brand did not bother:

• Brand films and manifesto pieces, which run on delivery and tone.
• Anything with a spoken call to action, which lands in silence.
• Emotional or humorous material, where the timing of the joke is in the voice.
• Anything where the on-screen text stays in the original language. Turkish subtitles under English product labels, English interface shots and an English end card do not read as a localised asset. They read as a foreign asset with subtitles, which is a different proposition to a viewer deciding whether this brand is here properly.

One technical decision sits underneath all of this: burned-in captions or an uploaded subtitle file. Burned-in text renders identically everywhere and survives download, re-upload and embedding, which matters for assets that will travel across placements and partner sites — but it is fixed, so correcting a typo means re-rendering, and it cannot be switched off by a viewer who does not need it. An uploaded caption file is editable, can be turned off, and gives the platform machine-readable Turkish text that can support search and discovery on the platform itself. For social placements where the asset is cut and reposted, burned-in usually wins; for a hosted library video that needs to be findable, the caption file does. Many brands end up producing both from the same timed Turkish script.

The last point is the one that most often gets missed in a localisation brief. Subtitling is a language task; localising the on-screen graphics, lower thirds, product callouts and end card is an edit task, and the two are usually quoted separately and commissioned apart. An asset that has had one and not the other is worse than untranslated, because it demonstrates the effort stopped halfway.

What the advertising regulation requires from on-screen text

Where the video is a commercial advertisement, the Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği governs how subtitles and superimposed text appear, and the rules are specific enough that imported assets routinely breach them. These provisions apply to advertising rather than to every piece of video content a brand publishes, so the first question is whether the asset is an advertisement in the regulatory sense.

The provisions that bear on a localised video:

• Readability. Article 18(4) requires subtitles, superimposed text and footnotes in advertisements to be at a speed and size that is readable and perceivable.
• Minimisation. Article 18(5) establishes that such text should be kept to a minimum — relevant because translating English qualifiers literally into Turkish tends to lengthen them.
• Qualifiers cannot swallow the promise. Article 18(6) provides that conditions or exceptions in subtitles, superimposed text or footnotes must not wholly or largely eliminate the advantages the main promise provides. A disclaimer that quietly withdraws the headline claim is the construction this addresses.
• Text size. Article 19(1) sets minimum text height by format, expressed in lines — for high-definition television format, at least 30 lines.
• On-screen duration. Article 20(1) sets a timing formula of 0.25 seconds per word, equivalent to four words per second, plus a fixed recognition allowance — for subtitles of nine words or fewer, three seconds are added to the total.
• Contrast and placement. Article 21(1)(a) requires contrast and relative brightness between text and background to permit easy reading, and Article 21(1)(d) requires subtitle and superimposed text to sit within the screen’s safe text area.

Two practical consequences. The duration formula interacts directly with Turkish script length, because a line that was eight words in English may be longer in Turkish and therefore has to hold longer on screen — which means the edit may need to change, not just the text layer. And a disclaimer inherited from a global version is frequently the exact text Article 18(6) is written about, so the compliance review belongs with the legal and regulatory check rather than with the subtitling vendor.

The wider advertising framework these sit inside — disclosure, comparative claims, substantiation — is covered in our guide to advertising regulations in Turkey beyond KVKK. Confirm the current wording and the application to your specific asset with Turkish counsel before publishing.

Voice-over and dubbing

Voice-over is the route most foreign brands should be choosing more often and executing far better than they do. The failure is almost never the decision; it is the brief.

Four things that separate a Turkish voice-over that works from one that advertises its origin:

Write the script, do not translate the timing. A translated script fitted to the original’s edit points forces the voice to rush or stall. Write the Turkish copy from the brief and the intent, then adjust the edit to the delivery where the format allows.

Cast for the register, not for the accent. A technical explainer, a premium brand film and a feed-native product video want different voices. The most common mistake is a single formal, broadcast-style read applied to everything, which lands as corporate distance on social placements.

Decide between voice replacement and dubbing to lip-sync. Narration over a demonstration is straightforward. A presenter speaking to camera requires lip-sync work, and poorly matched lip-sync is more distracting than subtitles — in a market where audiences are long accustomed to professionally dubbed film and television, the comparison point is high.

Check the result against the picture, not the script. Review on the rendered video. A voice-over approved on a script document is approved without the information that matters.

One decision worth making deliberately: machine-generated or synthetic voice. It has improved and it is tempting at scale. For internal, technical or high-volume variant content it can be defensible; for anything carrying the brand’s primary message to a consumer audience, the risk is that it reads as exactly what it is. Where you use it, disclose or label it in line with your own policy and check it against the platform’s rules for synthetic media.

When a local reshoot is the cheaper option

Reshooting sounds like the expensive route and frequently is not, because the alternative is paying for language work on an asset that will underperform regardless.

Five signals that the asset needs reshooting rather than localising:

• The setting is wrong. Homes, kitchens, offices, streets and retail environments that do not look like the viewer’s own undercut the claim that the product fits their life.
• The use case does not transfer. A product shown solving a problem framed around another market’s habits, pack sizes, regulations or seasons.
• The casting breaks the proposition. Particularly where the video depends on the viewer identifying with the person on screen.
• The format is wrong at source. Horizontal footage with no usable vertical crop cannot be rescued for the placements that matter most.
• On-screen elements are unfixable. Foreign packaging, non-Turkish interfaces, prices in another currency, regulatory marks that do not apply.

A full reshoot is not the only form this takes. A targeted shoot producing new opening and closing sections, new product inserts and new on-screen graphics around retained demonstration footage is common, and usually the best value of the three routes. Medyae’s production service covers both the shoot and the design and animation side of that kind of partial rebuild, alongside full local production.

Creator-made local versions are a fourth route worth pricing against the other three, particularly for social placements where the native look is part of the credibility. That sits in a different operating model, covered in our guide to influencer marketing in Turkey.

Turkish script length and why timing breaks

Turkish and English package information differently, and the gap breaks edits that were cut to English. This is a production constraint rather than a stylistic preference.

Turkish is agglutinative — meaning is built by adding suffixes to a stem — and it places the verb at the end of the clause. Two consequences follow for video.

The point arrives late. A sentence structured so the verb lands last cannot be cut at the same moment the English version could. A hard cut timed to an English payoff will land on a Turkish clause that has not resolved yet.

The same content takes a different amount of screen time. That interacts with the advertising regulation’s timing formula and with short-format placements where a few hundred milliseconds decide whether a line is readable.

Three practical responses. Brief the Turkish writer on the intent and the beat, not the English words, and let them restructure. Time the Turkish version on the picture before sign-off rather than reading it on a page. And design templates for on-screen text with Turkish string lengths in mind from the start — the same discipline that applies to web and app interfaces, covered in our guide to website localization for Turkey.

A workflow that avoids the usual failure

The common failure is sequential: translate, record, deliver, discover. A workflow that catches problems while they are still cheap runs in a different order.

1. Audit the asset against the placements. Which platforms, which aspect ratios, which durations, and whether the source footage supports them. This decides more than the language route does.

2. Decide the route scene by scene. Using the test at the start of this article, with separate decisions for narration, on-screen text and the end card.

3. Run the regulatory check before production, not after. Claims, qualifiers, disclaimers and comparative statements need review against Turkish advertising rules while the script can still change.

4. Write Turkish from the brief. Including on-screen text and the call to action, not only the spoken lines.

5. Produce against the picture. Record, then re-time the edit where the delivery requires it.

6. Review on the real surface. On a phone, at the size and in the context the placement will actually have, with sound off and sound on.

7. Version for placement last. Vertical, square and short cuts derived once the master is correct, rather than localised separately and inconsistently. How those versions perform by platform is covered in our guides to YouTube marketing in Turkey and TikTok marketing in Turkey.

Budgeting the decision

Published rate cards for this work are unreliable and vary widely by scope, so the useful exercise is understanding what moves the cost rather than quoting a figure.

What drives subtitling cost: source transcript quality, the number of language variants, whether on-screen graphics need rebuilding, and whether the edit has to be re-timed for the regulation’s duration rules.

What drives voice-over cost: script length, the number of assets, talent category and usage terms, whether lip-sync is required, and how many review rounds the approval chain generates.

What drives reshoot cost: shoot days, location, cast, whether existing footage is retained, and the number of deliverable formats agreed at the start.

Two budgeting observations worth more than a rate card. The cheapest route per asset is frequently the most expensive per result, because an underperforming localised asset still consumes the media budget behind it. And the largest avoidable cost in all three routes is rework caused by deciding the placements and formats after production rather than before. The broader cost framing for a Turkish programme sits in our guide to digital marketing costs in Turkey.

Common mistakes

• Subtitling the dialogue and leaving the graphics in English. It demonstrates that the effort stopped halfway.
• Translating the script instead of writing it. The timing breaks and the delivery sounds imported.
• Approving a voice-over on paper. The problems are only visible against the picture.
• Carrying a global disclaimer into a Turkish advertisement. Article 18(6) addresses qualifiers that largely remove the main promise.
• Ignoring the subtitle timing and size rules. The regulation sets a duration formula and minimum text height for advertisements.
• Localising at asset level when the asset splits by scene. It overspends on footage that needed nothing.
• Dubbing a real customer testimonial. It usually costs more credibility than it adds comprehension.
• Deciding formats after production. It creates the rework that dominates the budget.

Frequently asked questions

Are Turkish subtitles enough for a product video in Turkey?

It depends on what carries the asset. Where the picture explains the product — demonstrations, how-to content, technical B2B material — subtitles usually carry it, particularly for sound-off viewing. Where the asset runs on a person speaking, emotional delivery or a spoken call to action, subtitles remove most of what made it work. Either way, subtitling the dialogue while leaving on-screen graphics, product callouts and the end card in the original language undermines the result.

Are there legal rules for subtitles in Turkish advertising?

Yes, where the video is a commercial advertisement. The Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği requires subtitles and superimposed text to be readable in speed and size (Article 18(4)) and kept to a minimum (Article 18(5)), prohibits qualifiers that wholly or largely eliminate the advantages of the main promise (Article 18(6)), sets minimum text height by format (Article 19(1)), sets an on-screen duration formula of 0.25 seconds per word plus a recognition allowance (Article 20(1)), and requires adequate contrast and placement within the safe text area (Article 21). Confirm current wording and application with Turkish counsel.

Should we dub or subtitle a customer testimonial?

Generally subtitle it. Part of what a testimonial delivers is the authenticity of hearing the actual person, and dubbing tends to cost more credibility than the comprehension it adds. Where the testimonial is long or technical, consider a shorter subtitled cut rather than a dubbed full version.

When is reshooting cheaper than localizing?

When the problem is not language. If the setting, casting or use case does not transfer, or the source footage has no usable vertical crop, language work will not fix the asset and the media spend behind it is the larger cost. A targeted partial shoot — new opening and closing sections, new product inserts, new graphics around retained demonstration footage — is often better value than either a full dub or a full reshoot.

Can we use AI voice-over for Turkish?

For internal, technical or high-volume variant content it can be defensible. For consumer-facing assets carrying the brand’s primary message, the risk is that it reads as synthetic to an audience long accustomed to professional dubbing. Where you use it, check the platform’s rules on synthetic media and apply your own disclosure policy.

Conclusion

The localisation route should follow what carries the asset, decided scene by scene rather than asset by asset: subtitles where the picture explains, Turkish voice-over where a person persuades, and a local reshoot — often partial — where the setting, casting or format is the real problem.

Three things that decide the outcome more than the route does. Localise the on-screen text, graphics and end card alongside the dialogue, because a half-localised asset reads worse than an untouched one. Write the Turkish from the brief and re-time the edit to it, because Turkish places the verb late and packages information differently. And run the regulatory check before production, because where the video is an advertisement the regulation sets readable size, a duration formula, contrast and placement requirements, and prohibits qualifiers that largely withdraw the main promise.

For what performs once the asset is localised, our guide to video marketing and content production in Turkey is the companion piece, and our pillar guide to marketing in Turkey for foreign brands is the place to start.

This article is general information about video localisation and advertising requirements in Turkey, and the provisions cited carry the article numbers given from the consolidated text of the Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliği. It is not legal advice. Whether a given video is a commercial advertisement, and how these provisions apply to it, is fact-specific and should be confirmed with qualified Turkish counsel.