Zenni & World’s Greatest Bring Top Track and Field Athletes Back to ESPN

July 8, 2020

Online eyewear brand leader partners with USA’s first two major sporting events with spectators

NOVATO, Calif. (July 8, 2020) — Zenni, the online optical industry leader, announced today an exclusive partnership with World’s Greatest to broadcast a USA Track & Field-sanctioned pole vault event on ESPN’s YouTube channel including top-ranked vaulters Sandi Morris (U.S.) and Alysha Newman (Canada). The Livestream Games will take place on July 15 in Greenville, SC, where Morris recently built a runway approved for world-class events, and air live-to-tape the following day at 6 pm ET.

“Having the opportunity to compete against some of the best global competition at the setup I built with my dad is a dream come true,” said Morris, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist. “All the competitors know how difficult it has been with the Games being cancelled, so we’re happy to work with Zenni to compete in front of fans after all the hard work we’ve put in training.”

Zenni’s partnership allows the brand to outfit all 10 competitors with sunglasses, promote eye health with its signature Blokz line for blue light-blocking and sponsor social posts throughout the week. Zenni’s biggest commitment is to have fans engaged in the live competition, which is why there will be up to 160 socially-distanced spectators, making it one of the first events to have fans back in attendance. All fans will be required to wear masks and temperature checked on site before being spaced in groups 12-feet apart, while each jump will have an individual landing pad.

“Zenni has been building its presence across high-profile sports properties in recent years through our partnerships with the Chicago Bulls and San Francisco 49ers. To have the opportunity to help bring back the live sports action that we know fans crave was very attractive for us,” said Sean Pate, Zenni’s Brand Communications Officer. “Our low-cost, high-quality prescription eyewear offering has become critical during this time of economic instability, and with people spending so much more time at their screens at home we see this as an opportunity to raise awareness for eye health and protection. Working with Olympians like this hit all those marks.”

The week of July 12 will mark a big moment in American sports, as it will have two new events with fans returning to the stands, and Zenni will be a major player in both. In addition to the vault competition, Zenni is partnering with the Chicago, San Diego and Las Vegas teams of World TeamTennis, which features Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams and plans to have up to 500 fans in attendance throughout the month-long tournament. Zenni will also be strengthening its Bulls and esports partnerships that same week by hosting an NBA 2K competition on July 16 with Wendell Carter Jr. and Harry Giles facing off on Twitch.

For full information and rosters: Zenni.com & WorldsGreatest.team

Contact: Ross Lipschultz, Taylor, 212-714-5719, rlipschultz@taylorstrategy.com