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!