Burns Joins Engine Shop

(ATR) Olympic marketing and branding expert Terrence Burns brings his expertise to Engine Shop, a unit of Bruin Sports Capital.

Engine Shop bills itself as an experiential marketing firm, taking on projects for clients such as Mercedes Benz and Budweiser that include live events and social networking.

Burns will hold the title of executive vice president for global sports, working out of the Engine Shop office in Atlanta. The firm has branches in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

He says he’ll bring his Olympic know-how with him to Engine Room, initially targeting potential business from cities bidding for the 2026 Olympics.

Burns, formerly the marketing director for the Los Angeles Olympics bid, he was also on the staff of consulting firm Teneo. He’s worked on Olympic bids for PyeongChang, Sochi, Vancouver and Beijing, as well as the Russia 2018 World Cup bid.Burns has been involved with Olympic marketing projects since the Atlanta Olympics.

"With the end of Los Angeles, I also parted ways with Teneo and started my own company in December. Much to my surprise I had some discussions with George Pyne [head of Bruins Sports Capital I knew him from my time at NASCAR and we found a way to work together," says Burns.

Burns says he looks forward to working with Engine Shop CEO Brian Gordon in crafting the global strategy for the firm.

"We’re starting global sports practice. Engine Shop brings its clients some fresh thinking. Some of the Olympic brands don’t fully understand how to make the most of experiential marketing," Burns says.

Reported by Ed Hula.