Grammar and mechanics

We use British English

The WPP Open platform uses British English to maintain consistency and clarity throughout its content. When writing for the platform, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Toasts come in two types: system and app notifications.

Spellings

Use "s" instead of "z" in words like "analyse," "optimise," and "organise."

Analyse your campaign performance with WPP Open's AI-powered insights.

Use double "l" in words like "travelled," "labelled," and "modelling."

Our data modelling techniques help you identify high-value audience segments.

Use "our" instead of "or" in words like "colour," "favour," and "behaviour."

Understand your audience's online behaviour with WPP Open's analytics tools.

Use "re" instead of "er" in words like "centre," "metre," and "fibre."

WPP Open's data centre ensures your information is secure and protected.

Collective nouns

Treat collective nouns (e.g., "team," "company," "group") as plural.

Do write

Our team are dedicated to helping you achieve your marketing goals.

Don't write

Our team is dedicated to helping you achieve your marketing goals.

When to use the active and passive voices

Use the active voice to create a more engaging, concise, and conversational tone. Active voice makes it clear who is performing the action, which aligns with our goal of being clear and understandable.

Active voice: The subject of the sentence performs the action.

Do write

Jess Williams resolved your comment.

Don't write

Your comment was resolved by Jess Williams.

Use passive voice when the action is more important than the subject, or when you want to soften the message to avoid sounding too harsh.

Passive voice: The subject of the sentence receives the action.

Do write

Your request was declined.

Don't write

We declined your request.

To avoid passive voice, try reframing the message to focus on the object or the actions someone could take.

Do write

To reactivate your account, please log in and update your profile. (active voice, focusing on the action the user can take).

Don't write

Your account was suspended due to inactivity. (passive voice).

Use contractions where you can

Contractions help fit with our voice and tone. They make our language more human and keep sentences shorter and more concise. Here are some common contractions:

When using contractions, observe the following guidelines:

• Avoid contracting nouns with verbs. Do not contract nouns with 'is', 'does', 'has', or 'was'. This might make it look like the noun is in possessive form.
• Avoid using uncommon or old-fashioned contractions (e.g., would’ve or tweren't).
• Avoid using colloquial contractions (e.g., ain't, y'all, yinz).
• Be mindful of the number of contractions used per sentence. Excessive use of contractions can make things difficult to read.

Which verb tenses to use and when

Use simple verb tenses: past, present, and future.

Simple tenses are used to describe actions without specifically stating whether the actions are completed (perfect tenses) or ongoing (progressive tenses).

Use simple future tense to describe the result of an action or instant process that's happening now, or to describe something that will occur in the actual future (i.e., not at the time someone encounters the message).

When using past tense

Do write

You successfully created a new campaign.

Don't write

You have successfully created a new campaign.

When using present tense

Do write

You can access real-time analytics for your active campaigns.

Don't write

You are accessing real-time analytics for your active campaigns.

When using future tense

Do write

After setting up your campaign, your ads will start running on the specified date.

Don't write

After setting up your campaign, your ads will be running on the specified date.

We use simple verb tenses for in-product writing for several reasons:

• It’s concise: Simple verb tenses use fewer words, making the content more concise and easier to read.
• It’s readable: Fewer words and simpler phrases improve readability, allowing users to scan and understand the content more quickly.
• It’s accessible: Simple verb tenses are easier to understand for non-native English speakers.

A verb is not in simple tense if:

• It is preceded by "was/wasn't," "were/weren't," "has/hasn't," "have/haven't," "is/isn't," "are/aren't," or "be."
• It ends in "-ing."

Capitalisation

Use sentence case for all aspects of the WPP Open platform, including titles, headings, and UI elements (e.g., buttons, tooltips, menu items).

Writing in sentence case has been proven to be easier for users to read and comprehend. It sounds more friendly and human, which aligns with our voice and tone guidelines. Additionally, it helps better identify proper nouns and branded terms that need to be capitalised.

When to use sentence cases

Capitalise the first word in a phrase, title, or UI reference.

“Create new project" instead of "Create New Project"

Always capitalise proper nouns, such as names, brands, and specific features of the platform.

“WPP Open Analytics" instead of "WPP open analytics"

Capitalise acronyms and abbreviations.

"AI-powered insights" instead of "Ai-powered insights"

For example:

Do write

Discover how WPP Open can help you optimise your marketing campaign.

Don't write

Discover How WPP Open Can Help You Optimise Your Marketing Campaign.

Do write

Click the 'Create new project' button to get started.

Don't write

click the 'Create New Project' button to get started.

Pronouns

Focus on what's happening instead of who's making it happen when referring to the WPP Open platform users. Be conversational and talk to the user directly. Made exceptions for sensitivity and clarity when needed.

Usage of Second-person

Use second-person pronouns (you, your, you're) to address users and their actions within the WPP Open platform. For example:

Do write

You can access your campaign analytics here.

Don't write

I can access my campaign analytics here.

Usage of first-person

Use first-person pronouns (me, I, my) only in specific situations:

1. When a user responds to a question or prompt directly.

Example

"What is your main goal for this campaign?"

User response: "My main goal is to increase brand awareness and drive more traffic to our website."

2. When additional sensitivity is necessary, or to indicate privacy.

Example

"I understand that my personal information will be kept confidential and will only be used for the purposes of creating and managing my campaigns."

3. When there's a legal need to ask for consent

Example

"I agree to the WPP Open terms and conditions".

In rare cases, "we" or "us" can be used to refer to the WPP Open platform, such as:

We're sorry (for a critical error)

Help us improve this feature (requesting feedback)

More examples

Do write

Yes, I agree to the WPP Open terms of service.

Don't write

You agree to the WPP Open terms of service.

Singular they

When referring to individual users, use singular ‘they’ pronouns, such as they, them, their, theirs, themselves to maintain gender neutrality. For example:

Do write

Assign them a role in the project.

Don't write

Assign him/her a role in the project.

Punctuation

Don't use ampersands (&) in UI copy. Instead, spell out the word "and."

Do write

Create and manage campaigns.

Don't write

Create & manage campaigns.

Use apostrophes (') for possessives and contractions, but not in place of quotation marks.

Do write

WPP Open's AI-powered insights.

Don't write

WPP Open's 'AI-powered' insights.

Use colons (:) to introduce lists or steps, but not at the end of form field labels.

Do write

To create a new project: 1. Click 'New project' 2. Enter a name 3. Select a template.

Don't write

Project Name:s

Use the Oxford comma (,) (comma inserted before the and at the end of a list) when listing multiple items.

Do write

Select your campaign objective, budget, and duration.

Don't write

Select your campaign objective, budget and duration.

Use ellipses (...) for truncated text, loading states, and to indicate more actions in menus.

Do write

Loading campaign data...

Don't write

Click 'More...' to see additional information.

Avoid using exclamation marks(!) as they can be difficult to localise and get overused.

Do write

Welcome to WPP Open.

Don't write

Welcome to WPP Open!

Use hyphens (-) for compound words, en dashes (–) for number ranges with spaces on either side, and em dashes (—) for separate thoughts with no spaces either side.

Do write

Select a date range (01/01/2024 - 31/12/2024) to view campaign performance - you can also filter by channel.

Don't write

Select a date range (01/01/2024 - 31/12/2024) to view campaign performance, you can also filter by channel.

Use parentheses ( () ) for supplementary information, but not in simple tooltips.

Do write

Select a template or (create a custom one) to get started.

Don't write

Select a template [or create a custom one] to get started.

Use periods (.) at the end of complete sentences, but not for short phrases or in headers and buttons.

For buttons:

Do write

Create a new campaign

Don't write

Create a new campaign.

For messages:

Do say

Campaign created successfully.

Don't say

Campaign created successfully

Do write

Loading campaign data (message).

Don't write

Loading campaign data. (message)

Use quotation marks ("") only for quoting someone's words or referring to file/asset names.

Do write

Select the 'Campaign objectives' dropdown.

Don't write

Select the 'Campaign objectives' dropdown

Abbreviations

Months

Days

Time

Use sec, min, and hr as singular abbreviations, without periods or commas. Always include a space between the number and the unit of time.

Do write

1hr 21 min 3 sec

Don't write

1 hour 21 minutes 3 seconds