Meet the Affiliates: Dragoman and Captivate Arabia

ZOO's global affiliate network has experienced something of a growth spurt in the last few months, with more localization providers around the world dropping us a line to find out what the buzz is all about.

So, here's how it works. Our partners Dragoman and Captivate Arabia have an impressive reputation in Turkey and Jordan respectively. They've been working with Team ZOO over the last 12 months and we've seen some awesome results in that time.

We spoke to these high-flying affiliates to see what makes working with ZOO so different - and why our network of subtitling and dubbing service providers is making waves across the world.

Dragoman team get together for subtitling training

Over to our affiliates. Meet Umit Ozaydin from Dragoman and Imad Akbar of Captivate Arabia.

Can you tell us a bit about your team?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'Turkey is a sizeable market when it comes to TV shows and movies so resources are always scarce. Dragoman responds to the talent gap by investing skills-development programs and offering paid-internships to university students during their second and third year before they join our team.

'We require a minimum of two years industry experience and high marks in our challenging hiring tests. Our people are passionate linguists, eager to take the extra mile to exceed client expectations and tell your story in their native language. It is much more than translation, we transcreate.'

Dragoman was founded in 2005 as an interpreting agency. In time, they have evolved into a multi-language vendor of services including remote interpreting, transcreation, games localization, video subtitling and dubbing in over 80 languages. Today, the company serves over 500 Turkish and multinational corporations.

Imad Akbar, Captivate:

'We actually have multiple teams spread across South Asia and the Middle East. Our editors and translators have vast experience in the origination and QC of Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu subtitles. We also have a large team that specializes in the creation and QC of English translation templates, subtitles, SDH, and closed captions.'

Captivate Arabia was founded in 2009 as a subtitling and linguistic services firm in the Jordanian capital, Amman. Its established, tested and highly-qualified pool of subtitlers and translators has helped the company grow into a prominent B2B media localization service provider in the Levant and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Why have you chosen to work with ZOO?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'We have chosen ZOO mainly because it is a reliable and scalable cloud platform. Good linguists are hard to find and not all of them are employed full-time. To manage our distributed team in multiple languages and locations we needed cloud technology. And also, to be affiliated with a partner that is already working closely with many of the biggest SVOD and TVOD service providers in the industry.'

Imad Akbar, Captivate:

'We have had a strong working relationship with ZOO for years. We've always been impressed with how they are on the cutting edge of our industry and thrive on constant innovation. Their cloud-based localization platform is second to none and has enabled us to scale faster than ever before.'

What encouraged you to join the affiliate network?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'We love international partnership and affiliate programs, because there is so much to learn from each other. We love the idea of reaching beyond our borders and becoming a part of a greater mission and vision.'

Imad Akbar, Captivate:

'We made the strategic decision to join the affiliate network after working with ZOO on several projects in various languages.

What is different about working with ZOO?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'The ZOO team know what they are doing both technically and linguistically. There is always somebody to answer your questions in the shortest time possible. ZOO's interface is intuitive and very easy to learn and manage.'

Imad Akbar, Captivate:

'The responsiveness of the coordinators, the impressive support for ZOO's platforms, the reduced overhead and streamlined workflows (both for operations and billing), and the great people we get to work with on a daily basis.'

How have you been getting on since training with ZOO?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'Training with ZOO helped us understand the latest standards in the video localization market. Our video business has been consistently growing since then.'

Imad Akbar, Captivate:

'The platform has been great and exceeded expectations. We have had recurring training sessions with the folks at ZOO who have been very supportive in every way.'

The Captivate Arabia team work seamlessly across three offices

How has it changed the way you work?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'Thanks to ZOO, we now have a centralized, cloud-based ecosystem. It is easier to manage, track and QC the entire process. Also having ZOO technical team is a big assurance because we know they are always there if we need help.'

Imad Akbar, Captivate:

'We have achieved operational efficiencies by switching over to ZOO's platform from the client-side software we were using previously. It is much easier to track projects and work assignments in the system and managers can proactively take corrective action if a delivery is at risk thanks to automated notifications and in-system alerts.'

What advice would you give to an organization considering becoming an affiliate?

Umit Ozaydin, Dragoman:

'Talk to ZOO first and make sure you understand their business model. And analyze your own priorities, your goals, where you want to be 10 years from now. If you agree that partnering with a leading innovator is a good thing, then just sign up.'

Interested in our affiliate network?

If you're a tech-savvy localization provider looking for new ways to grow your business, ZOO's affiliate network may just be the perfect fit.

We're always on the lookout for the right teams to join the network - so get your hands on leading cloud-based technology, backed by an innovative R&D team, and transform the way you work for the better.

Sound interesting? Download our presentation and let's get the ball rolling!

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