Our mission

Adversity and opportunity

For fox&cat the importance of mental wellbeing is personal.

“I love working in health communications, but after fifteen intense years at the sharp end, I was tired. I didn’t realise how tired I was until I took a year out to find some mental space. I used the time to educate myself about stress, how we can be trained to manage it, and even how it can be shaped into something to motivate us.

With the help of a little perspective, the idea for fox&cat was born. I am now back in the business, offering a full integrated communications proposition but delivered with an awareness of increasing stress and pressure in the communications workplace.

Fox&cat has been created in part to help communications teams understand the importance and value of balance and control in tackling the challenges they face and the work they deliver. I now use my own experience to help my clients become happier, healthier and more successful.”

Paul worked in health communications for over fifteen years before leaving his role as a Director at Pegasus (now Evoke Mind+Matter) in 2019. Since then, he has launched fox&cat and helped lead, create and deliver a new mental health management programme called Under the tree.

Paul HutchingsFounder, fox&cat

The Fable

The name fox&cat comes from a fable that highlights the value of having one good plan when dealing with problems and pressure.

Once a cat and a fox were travelling together. As they went along, picking up provisions on the way—a stray mouse here, a fat chicken there—they began an argument to while away the time between bites. And, as usually happens when comrades argue, the talk began to get personal.

“You think you are extremely clever, don’t you?” said the fox. “Do you pretend to know more than I? Why, I know a whole load of tricks!”

“Well,” retorted the cat, “I admit I know one trick only, but that one, let me tell you, is worth a thousand of yours!”

Just then, close by, they heard a hunter’s horn and the yelping of a pack of hounds. In an instant the cat was up a tree, hiding among the leaves.

“This is my trick,” she called to the fox. “Now let me see what yours are worth.”

But the fox had so many plans for escape he could not decide which one to try first. He dodged here and there with the hounds at his heels. He doubled on his tracks, he ran at top speed, he entered a dozen burrows—but all in vain.

The hounds caught him, and soon put an end to the boaster and all his tricks.

Common sense is always worth more than cunning.

Our values

When you need our help, we’re committed to keeping things:

Simple

We’re easy to work with, straight-talking and uncomplicated. We’re also sensibly flexible, so we can adapt to your needs.

Balanced

While we’re there to deliver outstanding and original comms campaigns and programmes, we’ll also help you manage pressure through perspective.

Calm

We know how crazy and chaotic comms can be, which is why we’ll help you find the time and space you need to pause and reflect.

Strategic

With strategy, creativity can be candyfloss. That’s why, whether you need a slight tweak or a complete change of approach, we’ll ground our work in insight and reason so it works and endures.

Hours for ours

Improving mental health is part of our business planning and our mission. That’s why we offer our time for free to organisations fighting the same battle. Last year we ran two wellbeing events to help our clients overcome some of the stresses holding them back.

We see it as our role to help everyone in our industry to thrive under pressure. That’s why we support existing campaigns like #HeardMentality. We’ve recently launched out Under the tree initiative to offer anyone working in comms a place they can go to learn how to manage workplace stress. We use our profits to fund this service, so keep those briefs coming our way.

Join the team

Would you like to join us?

Right now, we’re focused on healthcare communications, but we’re always looking for communications professionals with the experience to help grow our client base and resolve their plethora of communications challenges. If you have a specific interest in comms, and an interest in mental health, drop us a line and we’ll talk you through the process of becoming part of the fox&cat network.

Contact us