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Enterprise

No illusions as magician Ben Hanlin's marketing agency strengthens Birmingham base

Pull the Pin is celebrating successfully first year in business with client wins and recruitment drive

Sam Hufton (left) and Ben Hanlin, co-founders of Birmingham digital marketing agency Pull the Pin

A digital marketing and video agency founded in Birmingham by a former Dancing on Ice star and experienced ad executive is creating new jobs in the city after securing a string of client wins.

Pull The Pin launched last year and is the brainchild of magician and illusionist Ben Hanlin and his lifelong friend Sam Hufton who previously worked for Birmingham advertising agency M3 and Found in London.

The pair are now recruiting four new staff members to its 15-strong team after securing contracts with household names such as financial services firm PwC, English Golf Union and restaurant chain Leon.

They said they were expecting to hit fees of more than £700,000 by the end of this month, with plans to double the size of the agency by 2023.

Mr Hanlin, who appeared on the hit ITV show shortly before the first covid lockdown in March 2020, said: "We've always talked about doing something together and then Covid-19 happened which accelerated our thinking.

"Some people thought we were nuts starting a business during such difficult times but it's something we had kicked around for long enough. The added increase in online use, and especially video, meant it just felt like the right time and opportunity.

"Sam is very well known throughout the sector while my job meant I was used to creating lots of content that gets millions of organic views."