HEB - We've got your back

The Brief

HEB Construction needed to attract hundreds of new people for major infrastructure projects starting in 2026. The challenge was more than just filling roles - it was about building awareness of HEB as a great place to work and creating a connection strong enough to drive action. 

Our brief was three-fold. First, develop an engaging Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that captured the essence of HEB’s culture and offered clear, motivating reasons to join and stay. Then, build an external recruitment campaign to bring that EVP to life - one that would position HEB as an employer of choice, and drive interest in joining the team. And finally, build a careers website that tells the full story, drives registrations and creates a talent pipeline for the future.

The Solution

We began by analysing the extensive staff research already undertaken and helping HEB gather additional feedback from people across the business. What came through strongly was a genuine, down‑to‑earth culture where people feel supported, valued and proud of the contribution their work makes to local communities and to Aotearoa as a whole. From that insight came a simple but powerful EVP story: We’ve got your back.  

The phrase captured the essence of HEB’s culture - whatever matters to you, HEB cares about it too. Leadership and team feedback helped us refine this EVP story, ensuring it resonated internally before taking it to market.

Next, we needed to express the EVP through an integrated recruitment campaign. We focused on five roles, across five key regions and five distinct target segments - allowing us to tailor messaging directly to what each audience valued most. The creative platform became “Your XXXX, backed by  HEB” – a flexible, audience‑led expression that could highlight what mattered to each group: Your career. Your whānau. Your wellbeing. Your future. Your development. Your community.

Visually, the campaign used bold colour, confident typography and a diagonal five‑line device symbolising HEB’s five values. This gave the campaign strong impact while making typical construction imagery feel distinctly HEB.  

Authenticity was essential, so we made real employees the voice and face of the campaign. Peer‑to‑peer storytelling came through in the language, video content and bespoke on‑site photography that showed actual HEB people at work — individually and as teams.  

The campaign rolled out across digital, social and physical channels, all driving audiences to the new careers section of HEB’s website. There, potential recruits could see how HEB had their back, learn more about the business and register for current or future roles.

The Results

The project delivered, and then some. The EVP story has energised staff, strengthened alignment between internal culture and external brand, and provided a unifying language for leaders and teams. Externally, the campaign created significant awareness and drove nearly 300 registrations of interest, providing HEB with a strong pool of aligned people ready for recruitment as roles opened.  

Perhaps most importantly, it’s given HEB a clear, credible platform for ongoing attraction. With the foundations in place, the campaign is now being extended internationally to target specialised skill areas.