The Karma Copy Bible

At Karma Drinks, we’re a small but mighty crew, and we’re well aware that our size doesn’t match our ambition to take on the world’s most consumed category of consumer goods...

So it helps to have a sense of humour.

Karma’s Voice

Our voice reflects who we are as people and as a company — we are authentic, positive, smart and handle everything with grit and a grin.

We’re intentional with our mission and our voice. Make every word count.

We are… Cheeky, not cheesy. Simple, not stupid. Empowering, not preachy. Bold, not boring. And always positive.

Karma was founded on good ideas with a fresh perspective. Your words should read the same. Find creative ways of saying things. Have an opinion, be honest and start a conversation.

Why what we say matters

Copy is everything from that big bold headline on a billboard to the tiniest word on a tin can of Karma Cola. If you can read it, it should unequivocally sound like Karma. Seize every chance to make an impact.

Our visual identity (like most good things in life) can be a little complicated. Since we look different across the brand, it’s even more important to come together in our unified voice.

success lies in developing new ways to do things.

iro ig n a l , i n novation and creative helps us make drinks that fulfil our

need s .

Creativity

more good so future

can

s

TO BE OR NOT TO BE...

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T BE BORING.

THE

COPY BIBLE

Be FRIENDLY.

This means using casual, everyday language - like you’re chatting to a mate - and being active, not passive. Be clear about who’s doing what.

Try: Try:

We’ll see you there — June, 12th.

Not: The event will take place on June, 12th.

Cheers for letting us know.

Not: Thank you for providing the feedback.

KARMA Be WITTY.

013 GENERAL GUIDELINES (Well, try your best.) People remember what made them laugh. If our comms hit the sweet spot i.e. the funny bone, it’ll leave a smile in the mind and a lasting impression.

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Be POSITIVE.

It’s easy to get bogged down by the weight of the world but we shouldn’t let it come across in our words. We talk about serious things in a light-hearted way. This doesn’t mean we’re naive or relentlessly optimistic but that we’re always on the lookout for the silver -lining and end things on a high note.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Be CLEAR.

Being confident doesn’t need overcomplicated language or grammar. If you wouldn’t say it, don’t write it. Keep it short and obviously, sweet. If the reader needs to re-read, you need to re-write.

Try: We made something new, what do you think?

Not: Please let us know what you think about our new drink in the comment section below.

THE KARMA COPY BIBLE 016 Be HELPFUL.

We know what we’re talking about but we leave the complicated issues with the experts.

Explain things in clear, informative ways but don’t assume to know more than our audience. Include them in the conversation and invite discourse.

Be LOCAL.

We’re a global brand, so it makes sense to adjust your vocab depending on who you’re chatting to. Dropping a casual ‘mate’ or ‘cheers’ works for both NZ and UK but a ‘crook’ or a ‘dag’ might not go over so well with the Brits.

As a proudly Kiwi company, it makes sense to sprinkle a little bit of Māori here and there. Stick to the following:

It means we’re a family.

Kia Ora, Karmaholics

THE KARMA COPY BIBLE 017 GENERAL GUIDELINES A friendly hello.

Karma Whānau

GENERAL GUIDELINES

DON’T USE EXCLAMATION MARKS.

Try your best to not use exclamation marks (and definitely not more than one) - unless ironically. Our words and content alone should be exciting enough.

DON’T BE PUNNY.

We don’t pun but we do have fun. There’s a difference between a play on words and writing puns that make you cringe.

Let’s avoid the latter. However, we’re almost always all about alliteration.

NO: This is ‘berry’ delicious! YES: We put the Karma back into cola.

DON’T BE REPETITIVE.

Keep your copy engaging by making some creative swaps instead of saying the same thing again and again. Here’s a few we like:

SWAP THIS FOR THIS

Awesome Bad-ass, sublime, sick, sweet-as Soft drink Fizzy drink, do-gooding soda, Fairtrade fizzies

Customer Friend, mate, Karmaholic

DON’T TRY TOO HARD.

We’re current and aware of cultural moments but over-doing it on slang can make us look like we’re trying too hard. Use new words and phrases sparingly so they have more impact - or with an obvious ironic context like:

DON’T ASK RHETORICAL QUESTIONS.

The little space we have to get our point across is precious. Let’s not waste it with questions that don’t need answering.

TRY: THIS COLA BUILDS CLASSROOMS NOT: Do you care about education?

DON’T DEMEAN OUR AUDIENCE.

We should always respect our Karmaholics and their intelligence. After all, they do choose to buy our drinks, so they must be pretty smart. People follow us because they care. Assume they know more about the things we’re passionate about than we do. Be kind and don’t patronise them by dumbing things down.

024

Do...

‘Karma’ over ‘Karma Drinks’ for casual comms.

British English (spelling colour with a ‘u’), in line with The Guardian Style Guide

Capitalise ‘Fairtrade’ but use lower caps for ‘organic’. One is a name, the other is not.

Short sentences. Less is more. Contractions. Choose “Let’s” over “let us”. “Don’t”, not “Do not”. Pronouns like ‘we’ and ‘us’. We’re in this together.

Mind our language.

If you feel strongly, it’s not unnatural to use strong language. But please don’t swear unless the idea won’t work without the expletive.

THE KARMA COPY BIBLE 025 GENERAL GUIDELINES If you must drop an f-bomb, asterisk the crucial vowel to leave a little mystery.

Karma Cheat Sheet.

HOW TO SOUND KARMA WITHOUT EVEN TRYING.

SHEET

Things we say:

When talking about ourselves: The Karma Crew Karma Whānau (NZ Only)

When talking about our drinks: The Can Gang

Original Can-gster Karma Kitchen

How we talk about our consumers: Karmaholics

Phrases we like:

Every Drink Does Good What Goes Around Comes Around Call it Karma.

The World’s Most Ethical Soft Drink For People, For Planet, For Real Soda that’s good for the soul Don’t panic, we’re organic.

Drink No Evil Good looking & Do-gooding. Trade, not aid. The Power of Karma This Cola Builds Classrooms.

Let’s

Emojis

Think of emojis as an extra language in our copy lexicon. Emojis are a significant cultural tool and can often get across more in one little smiley than we could in 20 sentences.

A picture is worth a thousand words and all that. Here’s a few you can use when writing digitally that instantly evoke Karma:

When talking ‘brand’:

Tip: Use emojis to break up longer captions.

2022 ‘on trend‘

When chatting ‘sustainability’:

Keep things inclusive by using the default yellow skin tone at all times. The emoji space is a little more flexible depending on the context but stick with the above to get started and you can’t go wrong.*

*See Product Library for drink-specific emojis.

Karma Drink Emojis Tagline

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Karma Cola Sugar Free ����

Gingerella Ginger Ale ����

What goes around comes around. / Taste cola for the first time.

We go both ways. / Cut the crap

Taste the justice.

Lemony/Lemmy Lemonade ���� Get lucky.

Lemmy Lime & Bitters

Razza Raspberry Lemonade

Orangeade

������

Lemmy Lemon’s world collides with Lime’s to taste buds a squeeze.

������ Punky pink lemonade.

������

Viva la flavour!

Apple: 100% classic apple, a sweet nod to the Orange: 100% pure orange, uncomplicated memories breakfast in bed.

Karma Juice

All relevant fruit emojis and corre sponding heart colour

Orange, Apple & Mango: A tropical twist on your favourites.

Orange, Carrot & Turmeric: The ultimate full-body feel-good flavour.

Apple, Guava & Passionfruit: A true, juicy innovation. Apple, Blackcurrant & Raspberry: A bold, sweet tangy masterpiece.

Apple, Pineapple, Passionfruit & Mango: Sweet sparkly summer sun.

Karma Kombucha “

Do your gut a world of good.

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Karma Water

This isn’t just another artesian still/sparkling water.

Karma Cola

Body

Made with real cola nut and Fairtrade, organic ingredients. Part of the proceeds go to the families who grow our cola in Sierra Leone.

Made with real cola nut and the natural sweetener stevia. Just like our original Karma Cola, part of the proceeds go to the families who grow our cola in Sierra Leone.

Gingerella’s fiery kick comes from organic ginger grown by Fairtrade farmers in Sri Lanka - organic lemons, vanilla and raw cane sugar keep things sweet.

If life gives you lemons, get lucky with Lemony. Made from organic Sicilian lemons and Fairtrade, raw organic cane sugar, it brings good fortune to the farmers, who get a fair deal for their harvest.

give your Lemmy Lemon’s world has collided with Lime’s to give your taste buds a squeeze. Organic limes, lemons and Fairtrade organic cane sugar brings good fortune to farmers who get a fair deal for their crop and a citrusy zing to you.

Lemons get a sweet and tangy twist in Razza, our punky pink lemonade. Fruity, fizzy and fearless, he gets his feel-good flavour from natural raspberry, organic lemons and Fairtrade organic cane sugar - so he tastes good and does good too.

Made with juicy, organic oranges grown in the wild San Potosí region of Mexico, Karma Orangeade celebrates life, flavour and fairness for the growers.

the past. memories of your old full-body innovation. sweet and Sweet as the

Organic, fruit-full juices made in Aeoteaora. Kiwi as.

Karma Kombuchas’ tongue tickling flavours taste as good as they make you feel. still/sparkling

This isn't just another artesian still/sparkling water. It's Kiwiowned, naturally filtered NZ water. Each drop has been sourced from the depths of the Heretaunga Aquifer in Hawkes' Bay, and bottled up to make 300ml of pure Karma Water. But what makes this water worth drinking is all that happens after you've sipped the last drop.

1% from every bottle sold supports education, clean water projects in Sierra Leone and so much more. So when you’re drinking this water, know it’s a good one.

COPY BIBLE

Simon Says

WISE WORDS FROM SIMON COLEY, THE MAN WHO STARTED IT ALL.

“There are about 2 billion colas consumed every day - over a million minute. But the West African people who discovered the magical properties of the cola nut don’t make a penny from the world’s most popular fizzy drink.

We thought it was time someone did something about that.

So we made Karma Cola.”

“This is a different kind of drinks company.

It’s based on everyone working together, from us respecting the people who grow our ingredients through to the cafés and restaurants we’re friends with.”

“It’s not about ‘giving back’. We don’t take in the first place. We share: ideas, inspiration, the work and the benefits, this entire endeavour revolves around what goes around, comes around.

Call it Karma.”

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“Trade not aid — the people of Boma are genuinely grateful for the support we provide by buying their cola nut, and understand that we’re endeavouring to encourage a commercial relationship with mutual benefits, as much as being altruistic.”

“Karma Cola promised to honour the source of the magic; the Cola growers in the rainforests of Sierra Leone.”

“Karma Drinks has its head office in New Zealand and a small team in London... But there’s no doubt that its heart lies in Sierra Leone.”

Boilerplate

COPY SO HOT, WE WANT TO USE IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

We’re a small company on a big mission — to make the most ethical soft drinks in the world.

The world drinks more than a million colas a minute but none of the money goes back to the people who originally discovered the stuff. So we made a drink to fix that.

Back in 2010, we made our first bottles of Karma Cola using a bag of cola nuts sent to us by our friends in Boma, a small village in the rainforest of Sierra Leone. We wanted to create something that would connect buyers with farmers, in a way that respected everyone and everything involved.

2% of revenue from every drink goes back to the villagers, and with the guiding force of The Karma Foundation, we’re able to deliver trade, not aid and do good with every drop. Call it Karma.

After putting the karma back into cola, we became Karma Drinks — bringing you all your cult organic and Fairtrade fizzy favourites.