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Our personality

We are always We are never

Approachable

We are professional, friendly and down to earth. Our customers feel welcome, comfortable and at ease with us.

Intimidating

Example: "Hi there, can I help?" Or, another example of being approachable would be making our website easy to navigate.

Straightforward

We are clear and get to the point. We don't use long sentences or silly puns that make us hard to understand.

Complicated

Example: You can use this coupon on any purchase over £10.

Light hearted

We like to look on the bright side and have a good sense of humour. But we are never crude e.g. "Sort your mop out!". We know our customers are only buying non-essential items and, at these times, there is no need to be too serious.

Crude

Example: "Bring on the sun", "Feel the Love", "She deserves it", "Hint hint".

Inspirational

We are full of suggestions. We inspire real people to try a new look, or make the most of themselves and inspire our colleagues to develop and challenge themselves. We are not pretentious or out of reach.

Unobtainable

Example: It takes just 20 minutes to achieve the tousled hair look and it's easier than you think!

Enthusiastic

We have bags of energy and are happy to face up to the challenge and do the right thing. We are never intense or over the top.

Intense

Example: We're really pleased to announce that Sarah Matthews has been promoted to the role of Brand Manager in the Own Brand team.

Tone of voice

Our Brand personality will be expressed through our tone of voice, and the way our customers interpret the Brand will be reinforced by everything we say.

The Superdrug tone of voice is confident, straightforward, conversational and light hearted.

Some tips to help you write for Superdrug

People notice the way things are written and it is vital that Superdrug sounds professional – reading perfectly. We shouldn't shout at our customers or drown them in words.

Consider the communication channel you're using.

For example: a straightforward tone of voice would be appropriate for creating an application form, whereas you may adopt a light hearted tone of voice for above the line communications.

The story or content of a page will also dictate its tone. More expensive products will want to sell themselves and therefore, you can use more basic language.

For example:

  • A sustainability policy will need to convey trust and credibility.
  • A page in a fragrance leaflet will need to create some allure to tempt the customer.
  • A campaign to drive sales will need an attention-grabbing headline.

Basic Checklist

  • Always check the spelling, punctuation and grammar of a document.
  • Read it aloud. How does it sound?
  • Are you trying to say too much in one piece?
  • Is the communication conveying what it is supposed to?
  • Use paragraphs. A continuous block of text is difficult to process.
  • Ideally headlines should be short and punchy.
  • Be selective when using exclamation marks — ask yourself if it really needs an exclamation mark on the end.
  • Avoid long-winded sentences — these do not convey the point in a straightforward way.
  • Avoid overly cheeky straplines that can sound crude or too bullish.
  • Avoid the use of puns — these are heavily overused by other retailers.

Downloads

Introduction

The logos

Tone of voice

Colours

Typography

Promotional and Pricing messages

Icons and roundels

Photography

Message hierarchy and layout

Property

Pharmacy and Health

HR

TV end frames

Sponsorship and concessions

Charity and third party

Web