Passion play
Scott Van Voorhis
Hope Frank, chief marketing officer at California-based Syntax-Brillian Corp., a company known for its Olevia brand of LCD televisions, approached ESPN back in 2005 about making Olevia the presenting sponsor for SportsCenter. She recalls it being a hard sell - not to the popular cable network, but to her own board. At the time, sponsorship represented a break from traditional advertising campaigns favored by the industry. Moreover, SportsCenterhad not yet achieved the ratings it now enjoys. But Frank prevailed, and in September 2006, Olevia became an HD presenting sponsor for...