Nicholas Burton, PhD

Associate Professor, Sport Management

Office: STH 362
905 688 5550 x6289
nburton@brocku.ca

Twitter

Dr. Burton’s research explores the strategic management and implications of marketing and sponsorship, taking a multi-dimensional approach to sport marketing research. In this context, his areas of interest include: sponsorship management and strategy; commercial rights management; athlete branding and celebrity endorsements; geopolitical sport business and management; sport fan behaviour; and social media marketing and user engagement.

Research Interests

  • Sponsorship management
  • Ambush marketing
  • Brand strategy
  • International sport business

Publications

Burton, N. (In print). Exploring the National Hockey League’s Reverse Retro Campaign: Response to Pseudo-Nostalgia in Uniform Design. Sport Marketing Quarterly.

Chadwick, S., Burton, N., Bond, A., & Widdop, P. (2023). The Geopolitical Economy of City Football Group. Journal of Strategy and Management. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-01-2022-0015.

Kast, S., Kerwin, S., & Burton, N. (2023). It’s a Fine Balancing Act: Exploring the Effects of Ambush Marketing on Sport Employees. Managing Sport and Leisure. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2023.2170266.

Burton, N., Naraine, M., & Scott, O. (2022). Exploring Paralympic Digital Sponsorship Strategy: An Analysis of Social Media Activation. Managing Sport and Leisure. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2021.1990789.

Scott, O., Burton, N., & Li, N. (2022). Sponsor and Ambush Marketing During the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Twitter and Instagram. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 23(3), 612-627.

Burton, N., & Hyatt, C. (2022). Exploring Fan Response to Coopted Team Brand Identity Following a Franchise’s Relocation. Journal of Sport Behavior, 45(1), 16-41.

Burton, N., & Schlieman, T. (2021). User Response to Virtual Reality Sponsorship Activations on Social Media: Exploring Impressions of GoPro’s Use of 360º Video in Marketing. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 21(2), 93-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2021.1944405.

Burton, N., & McClean, C. (2021). Exploring Newsjacking as Social Media-Based Ambush Marketing. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 11(2), 143-163.

Burton, N., Chadwick, S., & Widdop, P. (2020). Soft Power Eroded – How COVID-19 Has Undermined Gulf Airlines’ Sports Sponsorships. Sport and Entertainment Review. https://serjournal.com/2020/07/06/white-paper-soft-power-eroded/.

Chadwick, S., Widdop, P., & Burton, N. (Accepted, January 27, 2020). Soft Power Sports Sponsorship – A Social Network Analysis of a New Sponsorship Form. Journal of Political Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2020.1723781.

Burton, N. (2019). Exploring User Sentiment Towards Sponsorship and Ambush Marketing. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 20(4), 583-602.
*Winner of the 2019 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Outstanding Paper Award.

Burton, N., & Bradish, C. (2019). Commercial Rights Management in Post-Legislative Olympic Sponsorship. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 9(2), 201-220.

Burton, N., Bradish, C., & Dempsey, M. (2019). Exploring Expatriate Fan Identification, Awareness, and Motivation Around the FIFA World Cup. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 9(1), 78-96.

Burton, N., & Chadwick, S. (2019). European football supporter attitudes toward ambush marketing. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 20(1), 143-162. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-10-2017-0107.

Burton, N., & Bradish, C. (2018). Discursive power in commercial rights management: Examining the origins of the ethical framing of ambush marketing. International Journal of Sport Communication, 11(2), 200-218.

Roberts, S., & Burton, N. (2018). Should I Stay or Should I Go? Managing Sponsor Relations Through Athlete Transgression. Journal of Global Sport Management, 3(2), 170-188.

Burton, N., McKelvey, S., & Snyder, K. (2018). The Evolution of Media Reporting of Ambush Marketing. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 27(1), 18-30.

Burton, N. & Chadwick, S. (2017). Ambush marketing is dead, long live ambush marketing – a re-definition and typology of an increasingly prevalent phenomenon. Journal of Advertising Research.

Burton, N., McKelvey, S. & Snyder, K. (In press). The evolution of media reporting of ambush marketing. Sport Marketing Quarterly.

Burton, N., Chadwick, S. & Bradish, C. (2016). Ambush Marketing in Sport. In Nielsen, K., Storm, R. & Wagner, U. (Eds.), When Sport Meets Business (pp. 108-119). London: Sage Publications.

Burton, N., Chadwick, S. & Bradish, C. (2015). Ambush Marketing in Sports. In Chadwick, S., Chavanat, N. & Desbordes, M. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Sports Marketing (pp. 180-194). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.

Burton, N., Gorse, S. & Chadwick, S. (2012). Building an Entrepreneurial Sports Empire: The Case of Red Bull. In Ciletti, D. & Chadwick, S. (Eds.), Sports Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice
(pp. 15 – 26). Morgantown, West Virginia: Fitness Information Technology.

Teaching

  • Advanced Sport Marketing
  • Globalization of Sport
  • Sports Sponsorship
  • Introduction to Sport Management

Graduate Student Opportunities

Currently recruiting prospective MA students interested in sponsorship and environmental sustainability, women’s sport marketing, and the geopolitical economy of sport.