Betting and gaming PR agency Square in the Air is making the leap into B2C marketing and advertising, a gamble which could reap dividends while also encountering fresh challenges.

The firm is certainly not shying away from any prospective hurdles, however, hiring two heavy-hitters in C-level roles – Hugh Johnson as Chief Client Officer and Nick Withersby as Chief Creative Officer.

Johnson and Withersby have been tasked with leading the company’s new creative division, which will focus on branding, marketing and advertising campaigns. The duo have collective experience of working with a range of companies, including multiple betting firms.

The duo have both been working at Amigo Partnership, a London-based marketing agency, for the past three years. The firm has notable betting industry clients including Flutter Entertainment as well as LiveScore Group and its Virgin Bet brand, while Johnson and Witherseby also worked on The Pools’ recent rebrand.

“From our work in the sports, betting and gaming industries, I have been aware of and admired Square in the Air for some time,” said Johnson.

“They are a grown-up and established agency – and we are excited to come in and help creatively develop what is already a very successful business.”

Individually, Johnson’s experience working on marketing campaigns for the betting-adjacent sports sector, including with the Premier League, World Cup, Champions League, Eurosport and GiveMeSport.com, seems to have caught Square in the Air’s attention.

Meanwhile, Withersby has worked with major sporting and betting partners including the aforementioned LiveScore, Virgin Bet and Flutter as well as McLaren F1, focusing on branding, campaign organisation and creative team leadership.

“I absolutely love what I do – that early flurry when an idea is starting to take shape and you can feel it has got legs,” said Withersby.

“What is even better is seeing it go the distance – landing at scale, across the right channels, in front of the right people, making the noise it should.

“That is what this role gives us. Square in the Air is packed full of PR, social, content and
video experts, with whom we can create truly integrated creative campaigns for brands.”

Why now?

Square in the Air has been providing marketing and public relations services to the betting and gaming industry, as well as related stakeholders, since its foundation in 2006, headquartered from its London offices.

For the most part, the firm has been active in PR, and through this activity has built up a large network of clients and partners across sports betting and iGaming, particularly in the B2B side of things.

Moving into creative marketing and advertising seems like a logical next step, potentially opening the door to B2C clients. With the UK home to countless betting and gaming operators, being one of the world’s most saturated and highly competitive markets, there is no shortage of potential B2C clients who want to stand out.

The UK betting scene has also seen some very notable creative outputs. Paddy Power is particularly known for its tongue-in-cheek advertising, while Entain’s Ladbrokes has produced some widely recognised advertising campaigns like ‘Drummers’, ‘Rocky’, and the latest edition, ‘Ladisfaction’, all via agency partners like Atomic London.

With tax raises on betting and gaming looking increasingly likely in the UK, mid-sized firms and new market entrants – such as Dabble, AK Bets or Midnite, the latter of which has already been very active in marketing – may become increasingly reliant on marketing and advertising to acquire new customers and protect bottom lines.

This could come with challenges too, however. Should operators become pressed by the financial burden of taxes, they may turn to cost cutting efforts – something marketing and advertising budgets often fall victim to.

On top of this, there are other regulatory and political considerations. Betting marketing has been facing a public and political backlash in recent years which has once again come to the forefront despite the various recommendations of the Gambling Act review, which many reform advocates felt did not go far enough on marketing.

While much of this backlash has focused on sports sponsorship and advertising in football, particularly the number of deals signed between Premier League clubs and offshore Asia-facing bookmakers, TV advertising could find itself in political crosshairs too.

By entering this space, Square in the Air stands to gain a lot, with marketing one of the most crucial jobs in bookmaking, particularly a sector as competitive as the UK. It will also encounter some challenging conditions in the coming years, however, though it is no doubt already preparing for this.

“This promises to be a truly transformational moment for Square in the Air,” said CEO Ben
Cleminson. “I have been fortunate to see Hugh and Nick work at close hand, and they are exceptional creatives.

“The addition of their skills and experience is incredibly exciting for all teams across our business, and their leadership and fresh perspective will massively benefit the agency.

“The division that we are launching with Hugh and Nick will add a creative layer to our business, allowing us to provide a vital, sought-after service to a client base that we have nurtured over nearly 20 years, while also extending our reach into new markets and sectors.”

With the debate around UK gambling advertising as fierce as ever, check out what the SBC News and iGaming Expert teams had to say on the matter on a recent episode of iGaming Daily….