The sports, betting and gaming marketing agency has hired Hugh Johnson as Chief Client Officer and Nick Withersby as Chief Creative Officer.
Commenting on the appointment, Square in the Air CEO Ben Cleminson described the pair’s arrival as “a truly transformational moment”, as they join to shape the agency’s integrated creative division that will deliver full-scale brand strategy, advertising and marketing campaigns.
Each bringing more than 20 years of experience in brand strategy, marketing and advertising, the duo have worked together since 2022 at Amigo Partnership, where they delivered projects for clients including LiveScore, Flutter, Virgin Bet, UNICEF and Soccer Aid. They also collaborated on the relaunch of the 102-year-old British betting brand The Pools, which won at the 2025 Alliance of Independent Agencies Awards.
Johnson has held a range of senior roles within global creative agencies, independent digital firms and sports publishing networks, with experience running global and regional campaigns for the Premier League, Coca Cola, FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Eurosport, The Jockey Club, Imperial Brands, William Grant & Sons, GiveMeSport.com and The Football Content Awards.
In his new role, Johnson will lead the team’s creative client relationships and responses to briefs. Explaining his decision to join, he said he was “inspired by the sweet spot where creativity, fan culture and technology collide, to create meaningful connections between brands and their audiences that drive a tangible step-change in behaviours”.
“From our work in the sports, betting and gaming industries, I have been aware of and admired Square in the Air for some time. 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,” Johnson said. “The opportunity to combine strategic brand development and conceptual creative thinking with the existing expertise in-house is huge, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Withersby’s experience spans building brand campaigns and creative teams across sport, gambling, charity, publishing, tech, SaaS, consumer and B2B, working with the likes of LiveScore, Virgin Bet, Flutter, Fincore, McLaren F1, Soccer Aid, UNICEF, Legal & General and Thomson Reuters.
At Square in the Air, Withersby will oversee creative output from its in-house copywriting, design and video teams. He described the company as an agency “packed full of PR, social, content and video experts, with whom we can create truly integrated creative campaigns for brands”.
“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. 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,” Withersby said. “The company already works with an exciting selection of clients, and I am so excited to see what we can all do together. Let’s go.”
The pair will report to Cleminson, alongside Chief Operating Officer Ollie Drew and Chief Commercial Officer Robin Hutchison.
Cleminson added: “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.”