Bannerman's Pharmacy Group is a family-run network of six community pharmacies across Glasgow and the west of Scotland. What started as a single marketing plan has grown into Smiddy Marketing acting as their full marketing function.

The situation

Independent businesses competing against national chains rarely have the budget for senior in-house marketing expertise. Bannerman's had a strong product, loyal customers, and a genuine point of difference in the way they served their communities. What they needed was the marketing experience to make more of it.

What Smiddy Marketing delivered

The engagement began with a marketing business plan and has grown into an ongoing fractional Marketing Director role, covering everything from business development and stakeholder management to PR, digital, design, and social.

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The internal work came first. Clear objectives, KPIs, brand guidelines, staff communications, and performance tracking were all put in place to give the marketing function proper foundations before any outward-facing activity began.

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The most visible expression of the work has been the £600,000 robot dispenser launch, the first of its kind in Scotland. Long-standing media relationships secured an exclusive with The Herald alongside broader national and regional coverage that the business could not have generated on its own.

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The day-to-day work has steadily reframed Bannerman's from functional clinical pharmacy to genuine community fixture. A refreshed social media presence, SEO work in partnership with Boyd Digital, and a content programme rooted in real local stories have brought new audiences in. In-store murals featuring local landmarks, friendly signage, and visible charity activity have brought the same story to life within the neighbourhoods they are serving.

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What it unlocked

A national PR moment. A brand that genuinely reflects its communities. A marketing operation built to last.

Digital activity delivered in partnership with Boyd Digital. Design delivered in collaboration with 25 West and Hutton Design. Content production by Sean McAlindon and Jeff Holmes.