Finalist
Under the Tree: Showing True Heart for Comms Minds
by Fox&Cat
Summary of work
In January 2023, Fox&Cat founder, Paul Hutchings, noticed increasing social media posts among communications professionals focused on stress, burn-out and mental ill health. The volume and intensity caused concern. Paul’s personal experience of burn-out made him determined to make a positive difference and better equip the industry’s 79,100 employees to deal with the increasing levels of pressure they face.
When an industry Mental Health Audit showed that 9 in 10 communications professionals experience poor mental health, with 7 in 10 experiencing chronic stress – it was time to act.
Nothing existed that was tailored for the industry, easily accessible or free.
Fox&Cat funded and created a digital, social first, free, industry-wide mental wellbeing training programme called Under the Tree in partnership with the PRCA, HCA and CIPR. The lifetime LinkedIn Live attendance was 4,651, reaching circa 6% of the UK industry in 2023. 90% of attendees surveyed said after the training they felt better equipped to deal with pressure and stress.
For Paul, Under the Tree was just the start. “Our evaluation uncovered insight into the different causes of stress which sparked further pro bono digital and social work in the areas of menopause, neurodiversity, community care and interaction.”
Judges’ comments
Fox&Cat has created an interesting social media campaign with clear and ambitious targets, along with good outcomes. The judges noted the strong utilisation of collaborations, as well as the differentiation between audience types with a lot of focus on creative and well-thought content.
