January Nomination: Phoenix Suns Whips Up a Tweetup

Though not the first NBA team to embrace the direct-to-many world of social media, our very own Phoenix Suns was the first to equip its Twitter arsenal with a dangerous new weapon: the Tweetup.

Tapping into its burgeoning crowd of followers, Director of Digital Media Amy Martin (@PhoenixSunsGirl) lobbed a Twitter-only invitation to the January 16 Suns game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This may not seem a notable action in itself, but this offer was packed with extra sweetness.

In addition to getting tix to the game at a 33% discount (which included a t-shirt and bag), participating Tweeps enjoyed early access to the court for front row seats during warm-up, sitting together in a special section called Twitterville during the game and huddling up for a post-game mingle on the Suns Practice Court -- at which GM Steve Kerr and Shaq made an appearance.

When all was said and done, the event attracted more than 125 boisterous fans. On average, Twitter logged a Suns-related tweet every 1.6 minutes in the 12 hours before and after the event, and the blogosphere blew up in response, as you can imagine. Other groups piggy-backed the event with functions of their own -- including Rail Life, the Valley light rail's preeminent social group, which arranged a pre-game meet at Majerle's for a drink or two.

All of this, of course, comes hot on the heels of the first big Suns splash on Twitter -- the faux-Shaq fiasco that happened last Fall when Phoenix's own Ward Andrews impersonated The Diesel for several months with stunning aplomb. The New York Times even reported on it. If you missed out on the fun, you can still access the fraudulent feed's archive online. No big deal for THE_REAL_SHAQ, though; since setting himself up on Twitter bona fide, he's garnered more than 118,000 followers to date.

Though the Valley is waiting with bated breath for the next Suns Tweetup, the success of its introductory foray earns the coveted Oddy nomination for January. Does your twit-tactic move the masses? Reach out to us at theoddy.com. RT this nom. Go Suns.