The Black Hole and Elmwood join William Hill roster

William Hill has appointed The Black Hole and Elmwood to its below-the-line roster. It comes just weeks after it appointed Billington Cartmell to work on its retail division’s below-the-line work.

The latest appointments follow a series of pitches, led by the bookmaker’s marketing director, Adam Harris.

Leeds-based brand response agency The Black Hole has scooped all online and offline direct marketing for the bookmaker. It won the business after a pitch against undisclosed agencies, including the incumbent, Prego.

Meanwhile, Elmwood, a Leeds design company, is working on the in-store design and has a brief to give retail outlets a revised look and feel.

The pitch for sales promotions and partnerships continues. Harris says he is looking at a variety of agencies but has already handed some project work to Manchester agency Blue Chip.

Late last month, Billington Cartmell won the below-the-line account for William Hill’s retail division after a pitch that included incumbent Poulters (MW May 29). The following week it was announced that Poulters was to be closed down by its parent company, Bezier (MW.co.uk June 5). Bezier denies that the loss of the William Hill account was instrumental in the decision to wind down the 37-year-old agency. Chief executive, Mark Shaw says the closure, which may lead to 42 redundancies, is part of a restructure to allow the company to concentrate on its retail marketing.