Pet Rocket Brand kit
Copywriting guide
How Pet Rocket sounds, to a child who wants to play and to a parent who wants to help.
Overview
Pet Rocket talks to two people at once: a child who wants to play, and a parent or teacher who wants to help. Same brand, two registers. This guide shows how to write for both.
How Pet Rocket sounds
Warm
Like a friendly pet next to you. Kind, never cold or corporate.
Clear
Short sentences in everyday words. One idea at a time, just like one sum at a time.
Playful
Rockets, planets and the Moon. A wink, never silly or childish to adults.
Honest
We only say what the game really does. No hype, no fear.
Two registers
| To the child | To parents and teachers | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Play, keep going, feel proud | Understand the problem and trust the solution |
| Tone | Excited, short, cheering | Calm, concrete, reassuring |
| Address | You, your pet, the rocket | You, your child (or the child's name) |
| Example | 🚀 Start the rocket! · Hooray, you know the 7 times table! Another planet! | Discover which times tables your child still finds hard. |
Write like Pet Rocket
Every text for parents follows the same order. Start where the parent is, and keep the features for last.
1 · Pain
In the words of a parent: "They practise every evening, and the next day 7 × 8 is gone again."
2 · Promise
What changes: "Discover which times tables your child still finds hard."
3 · Proof
How it works: the hard sums come back more often, and you see the hardest sums.
4 · Reassurance
Free to play, no ads, no account needed.
The pains we answer, strongest first
| Pain (in a parent's words) | What Pet Rocket puts against it |
|---|---|
| "They just don't stick." | Times Tables Coach: sums that go wrong come back more often. Short one-minute rounds, every day. |
| "I don't know where it goes wrong." | A summary after every round; with the Moon Pass the accuracy per table and the hardest sums. |
| "Practising is a fight every evening." | Their own pet flies to the Moon. Planets, medals and vehicles to earn. The pet cheers them on. |
| "Apps are full of ads and accounts." | No account, no e-mail, no ads, no chat. Nothing to install. |
| "I want to help but don't know how." | Table pages with tricks and pitfalls, a smart order, what school expects. |
| "Division keeps getting stuck." | Times tables and division together: one family of facts, four sums. |
| "There's a test coming up." | Every round is a small one-minute test with mixed sums. |
| Teacher: "I don't know what sticks with my class." | One link with your tables, an anonymous class overview, no pupil names. |
| "We have more than one child." | With the Moon Pass: several children, each with their own statistics and Times Tables Coach. |
Essential dos and don'ts
- Start with the pain, in the words of a parent or teacher. Then the solution, the feature last.
- Only make claims the game backs up. In doubt, make the claim smaller.
- Everyday words, no tech talk. Not "in your browser", "data", "algorithm" or "sync". Say "play straight away", "on your own device".
- Write natural language, never translated sentences. Say it the way a parent says it.
- Gender-neutral about the child. Use the name or "your child". In English "their" is fine; never "his" or "her".
- No fear words such as "spying". Name what is there: calm, safety, everything stays at home.
- Celebrate, never shame. A child is never "bad at maths"; they just don't know a table yet.
Do
- Discover which times tables your child still finds hard.
- No ads, no account needed.
- The child's name stays on your own device.
- Your child flies their own pet to the Moon.
Don't
- Which tables haven't stuck yet
- Zero data collection! No spying!
- All results stay on your device.
- He flies his pet to the Moon.
Writing guidelines
Capitalisation
- Pet Rocket, Moon Pass, Times Tables Coach: always capitalised.
- the Moon with a capital in the game and on the site. Planets stay lowercase.
- Headings in sentence case: "How the Times Tables Coach works", not "How The Times Tables Coach Works".
Numbers, sums and prices
- Digits for tables and sums: "the 7 times table", "tables 1 to 10", "1–10" with an en dash.
- Sums with spaces around the sign:
7 × 8 = 56. Use the sign of the country (see Localisation). - Both factor orders are always right: 3 × 7 and 7 × 3. Never sums with a remainder.
- Prices:
€9.99 per yearin Europe,$9.99/yearin the US. Always add "cancel anytime".
Punctuation and emoji
- Short sentences, no exclamation marks in parent copy. One is fine for the child.
- Use the middle dot to join short claims:
Free · No account · No e-mail. - Emoji have fixed jobs: 🌙 for the Moon Pass, 🚀 to start, 🏆 for trophies, 📜 for the certificate, 🔒 for something locked. Don't add others for decoration.
Links and buttons
- A button says what happens: "Start the rocket", "Join the waiting list", "Keep practising".
- Links aimed at parents (Moon Pass, statistics) go to the Moon Pass page; a lock a child taps opens the pay window.
- While the shop is closed: "Join the waiting list", never "Coming soon".
Words to avoid and better alternatives
| Avoid | Use instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| which tables haven't stuck yet | which tables your child still finds hard | Natural and kind; our promise |
| in your browser, data, algorithm, sync, app download | play straight away, on your own device, nothing to install | No tech talk for parents |
| no account (as an absolute) | no account needed | Parents can make an account if they want one |
| all results stay on your device | the child's name stays on your own device | Anonymous rounds are logged on our server |
| on any device | on your own devices, on up to three devices | A Moon Pass works on three devices |
| learns the tables faster (as a fact) | helps your child learn the tables faster (as a promise) | Not yet proven with our own numbers |
| spying, tracking, creepy | simply safe, everything stays at home | No fear words |
| parent pack | Moon Pass | Old name |
| Coming soon | Join the waiting list | Gives parents something to do |
| his / her (about the child) | the child's name, your child, their | We don't know if it is a boy or a girl |
| bad at maths, weak, behind | doesn't know it yet, still finds it hard | Encouraging |
| [email protected] | [email protected] | Fits the space theme |
| the name of a payment provider | Secure payment | Providers change |
Inclusive language
- Gender-neutral about the child. The game doesn't know if the child is a boy or a girl. Use the name, "your child", or "their".
- Every family. Don't assume two parents. Updates can go to "someone else": a parent, a grandparent, a carer.
- Every pace. Children learn at different speeds. Never compare a child with classmates; compare with yesterday.
- Every language at home. Seven languages help multilingual families. Mention it as a bonus, not as the main message.
- First names only. In the game we ask for a first name or nickname, never a full name.
Localisation: like at school
Pet Rocket teaches the tables the way each country's schools do. Never say anything about signs, words or school years that isn't in this table. If something is uncertain, leave it out of marketing copy.
| Version | Signs | Words | At school |
|---|---|---|---|
| /nl/ Flanders & Netherlands | x or × for times, : for division (never ÷) | maaltafels, tafels, deeltafels; Flanders mostly says "maal", the Netherlands "keer" | Flanders: 2nd–3rd year, all 1–10 by end of 3rd year. Netherlands: groep 4–5. |
| /fr/ France | × (fois) and ÷; French-speaking Belgium uses : | tables de multiplication, la table de 7 | Through CE1, fluent end of CE2 |
| / United Kingdom | × and ÷ | times tables, the 7 times table, maths, Year 2/3/4 | All up to 12 × 12 by Year 4; Multiplication Tables Check in June of Year 4 |
| /en-us/ United States | × and ÷ | multiplication facts, division facts, math, Grade 3 | End of Grade 3 (Common Core). No timed tests as a school norm. |
| /de/ Germany | · and : (3 · 7, 21 : 7), not × ÷ | das kleine Einmaleins, die 7er-Reihe, mal, geteilt durch | Core facts by end of Klasse 2, all in Klasse 3–4 |
| /es/ Spain | × or x, and : for division | las tablas de multiplicar, la tabla del 7 | Usually from 2º de Primaria; be careful with claims |
| /zh/ China | × and ÷ | 乘法口诀, 九九乘法表 | Grade 2. School range 1–9; 10–12 are extra |
| /hi/ India | × (division sign uncertain) | पहाड़ा, "7 का पहाड़ा" | Class 3: tables 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 |
The logo always keeps × ÷, in every language. English on / is British English (maths, practise, colour); /en-us/ is American English (math, practice, color).
Claims: what we can say
Our value "Honest" in practice. Check every claim against this list.
We can say
- Free to play: all times and division tables from 1 to 10.
- No ads, no chat, no links out of the game.
- No account or e-mail address needed to play.
- The child's name stays on your own device.
- Hard sums come back more often with the Times Tables Coach (about 3 in 8 sums).
- Made by a dad for his son; independent.
- €1 per new paying family to Teach For All.
We don't say
- "Proven to learn faster" or any percentage we haven't measured.
- "All data stays on your device."
- "Works on any device" for the Moon Pass.
- School-year or test claims that aren't in the localisation table.
- Comparisons that name and attack another app.
Quick proofing checklist
- Does it start with the pain, in a parent's words?
- Is every claim on the "We can say" list?
- Gender-neutral about the child?
- Product names spelled right: Pet Rocket, Moon Pass, Times Tables Coach?
- The right signs and words for this country?
- No tech talk, no fear words, no "haven't stuck"?
- Price with "per year" and "cancel anytime"?
- Would a parent say it like this out loud?