Thank You! - Runner-Up, Sports Social Media Professional of 2010

In mid-December, Lewis Howes and the SportsNetworker.com held a poll to gauge who was the Top Sports Social Media Professional of 2010. I was honored to be included among a number of noteworthy nominees (see below) and just wanted to say a quick thank you to all those of you who voted for me and have helped spread the word about the site.

The final results were announced late last week and CNBC's Darren Rovell was named the winner but I am honored to say that I finished as the runner-up with 370+ votes. There are so many terrific individuals doing amazing things in the sports social media/sports business space and I really do appreciate everyone's continued support for Partnership Activation. I had the honor of guest blogging for Darren Rovell on CNBC.com in 2008 and really consider it a privilege to be considered in the same class as him.

I wanted to send a quick note of congratulations to all of the other nominees that were considered for Top Sports Social Media Professional of 2010, including: Jim Bankoff (SB Nation), Matthew Higgins (NY Jets), Amy Martin (Digital Royalty), Darren Heitner (Sports Agent Blog/Dynasty), Russell Scibetti (The Business of Sports), Ben Sturner (Leverage Agency), Daniel McLaren (UK Sports Network), Jason Peck (JasonFPeck.com), Scott Phelps (Pittsburgh Steelers), Ash Read (FundSport.com), Sam Taggart (Vaynermedia), and Stephanie Bagley (Vaynermedia).

... And a special thanks to Lewis Howes for putting the promotional poll together to recognize a number of individuals doing great things in the space! Check out a great interview Lewis did with Darren Rovell by clicking the image below:

The Suns Sell Social Media Services In A Suite Way

Sports organizations looking for new ways to leverage social media to drive ticket sales should take a close look at a terrific new package the Phoenix Suns are offering local businesses.

Per Darren Rovell of CNBC.com, the Phoenix Suns recently unveiled a Suite and Social Night package that allows companies who opt to host their Holiday Party in a Suns suite to derive incremental value through the team's social media channels. The team's pitch is, Host your holiday party in a Suns Suite and become a digital marketing partner at the same time. Choose a package, pick a night, leave the rest of us."

The Suite and Social Night Package costs $7,000 but delivers a tremendous amount of value for companies, including:

• (20) tickets in a one party suite
• (6) parking passes
• A catering package
• Suns hats and foam fingers
• (1) authentic Steve Nash jersey
• (2) Facebook status updates from the Phoenix Suns (reaching 225K+ potential customers through their Facebook channel)
• (3) Twitter mentions from @PhoenixSuns, delivering a direct message to the Suns' $45,000 Twitter followers
• A mention in the Suns' Post E-Newsletter, a periodical that is sent to 55,000 avid fans

The Suite and Social night package really serves as a terrific way for teams to leverage and derive value from their social media channels during a time when there is some speculation about their true worth. It will be interesting to see if fans are receptive to the sponsored gameday messages, but if the Suns position them the right way, there shouldn't be any backlash... and it serves as a great way to drive additional value for team partners on gamedays!

Gatorade Masters the Art of Michael Jordan...

Are you looking to create a captivating in-market display that utilizes your products? Are you looking for new ways to leverage athlete endorsers?

As CNBC's Darren Rovell reported a few weeks ago, Gatorade recently created a unique mural of Michael Jordan on a sidewalk in the South Side of Chicago using 14,641 Gatorade bottles. The sidewalk street are was created to introduce the brand's new, limited edition Jordan Series (which includes six (6) different MJ-themed flavors) and commemorate His Airness' upcoming induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Gatorade called on an internal team of experts and celebrities (Scottie Pippen, Jackie Joyner-Kersee) to create the impressive street art display in a matter of only 16 hours.  A series of lighting fixtures enable the thousands of Gatorade bottles making the Michael Jordan display glow at night time. But what's even more impressive than the actual display itself is the amount of preparation, teamwork, and planning that was required to execute the project. The second video below does a tremendous job detailing all of Gatorade's behind-the-scenes work. Check it out!