Overview
We offer Tier 1 capability and Tier 2 agility. Our Tone of Voice should reflect this unique combination of strength and responsiveness.
We’re professional, but approachable. We’re careful and considered, with a high-tech twist. We’re a well-established enterprise, but our processes don’t pen us in. We have a best practice approach to complete infrastructure projects, but it flexes on a case-by-case basis.
What we say demonstrates our expertise, how we say it reflects our ability to deliver on customers’ individual needs and offer clear solutions. Copy should be short, to the point, and use the simplest terms possible.
Ultimately, we want people to know that:
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We are self-sufficient, but customer-centric.
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We’re committed to doing the right thing.
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We empower infrastructure projects through unflinching support and a sound grasp of what works.
Our promise
to our customers
Our brand promises.
We make these assurances to our customers.
The ethical decision, always:
VVB acts in the best interests of our people, clients and projects. Our values-driven, partnership approach ensures we make the ethical decision, always.
Built-in buildability:
Our full lifecycle offering means we understand the nuances of construction and continually build in buildability.
Customer-centric self-delivery:
VVB provides customer-centric self-delivery, thanks to a unique combination of Tier 1 strength and industry knowledge, with Tier 2 agility and specialism.
Our tagline
Our tagline crystalises what we do and how we do it.
Infrastructure
with
integrity
Ready written
Here’s some boilerplate copy to use in your own materials.
About VVB: longhand.
VVB provides mechanical, electrical and telecommunications engineering that makes the UK move. From underground to overhead, we create a firm foundation for tomorrow’s infrastructure. Our Tier 2+ approach sees us deliver for large-scale projects, with added agility and complete self-sufficiency.
About VVB: shorthand.
VVB provides mechanical, electrical and telecommunications engineering that makes the UK move. We combine large-scale experience with Tier 2 specialism, from underground to overhead.
Example headlines:
Establishing
the
understructure.
Laying
the
groundwork.
Bedrock
to build
from.
A cornerstone
of
construction.
Editing essentials
Check your homonyms and homophones
There / their / they’re. Your / you’re. Compliment / complement. Your writing only complements the brand if you’re getting it right.
The road to hell is paved with adverbs - Stephen King
Eliminate unnecessary adverbs like ‘very’, ‘quite’, ‘really’. If the sentence makes sense without it, delete it.
Hyphenate modifiers
If you use a compound adjective (an adjective made up of more than one word), hyphenate it. E.g.: ‘a high-risk strategy’, ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’.
Keep it short
Use the fewest words possible to make every point clear.
Clarity is critical
Making your point clearly is the single most important thing.
Coping with capitalisation
Only capitalise proper nouns, i.e. names of people, places, organisations and products.
Bullet points
Leave bullets open ended. A bullet point should run no longer than a sentence. Any longer than that, consider using paragraph form instead.
All English, everywhere
Use English English (not American). That means S over Z, ‘through’ over ‘thru’ and double Ls. If you’re not sure, this Oxford International English Schools article provides a good overview.
Favour the active voice
Sentences in the active voice are strong, direct and clear. E.g.: 'the man chased the dog' rather than 'the dog was chased by the man'.
CSR: The way we do business
Our
People
Our people are our most valuable asset, and we treat them as such. We ensure safety is the first priority on site, and protect the physical and mental health of our employees above all else.
Our
Projects
We think strategically, maintain an end-result focus and make decisions that create long-term value.
Our
Communities
Social value KPIs are a key part of our project reporting, and we strive for a positive net social value for all our projects.
Our
Environment
We assess and minimise the environmental impact and climate change contribution on all projects, striving towards net zero climate change effect.
Health,
safety
and wellbeing.
The way we treat people.
Mental health:
We value and protect our people’s mental health as highly as we do physical. Men working in the construction industry are at the highest risk of suicide: this is something we take very seriously and feel a sense of responsibility to change. Our teams have access to a range of mental health support services, and we're Mates in Mind supporters. We commit to continuing the conversation and being the change.
Behavioural safety:
In our high-risk, acute implication industry, safety has always been a given for VVB. We build safety into project plans and programme delivery. But 80% of accidents are caused by someone’s behaviour. So we’ve committed to minimising this risk too. VVB has been proactively driving a shift in approach to empower site personnel to identify and eliminate unsafe behaviour, as evidenced by our PC4P programme. We commit to sharing our own expertise and staying abreast of industry best practice by continuing to participate in industry working groups and presentations where we can either add value or learn something valuable.
Diversity:
A diverse pool of talent is a valuable asset. We find strength in difference and actively seek to plug the skills gap by recruiting a workforce that represents local and national demographics, and providing a workplace that is fair, inclusive and respectful.