The Phoenix Suns, a professional basketball team, reportedly has announced a two-year partnership with Txtstation, a mobile marketing company that specializes in sports and entertainment.

 

Both partners are working together to bring real-time mobile interactivity to fans at U.S. Airways Center and TV viewers watching the games from the comfort of their homes.

 

Fans have already experienced the excitement when on Suns’ home opener on Oct. 30, they participated in a number of mobile promotions, powered by Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless. During this game the fans had an option to pick Fan’s Choice Vote in which text message responses determine the “pulse of the fan.”

 

Suns Jukebox allowed fans to text in their choice for the next song played and Text-o-War allowed two groups of fans to try to out-text one another. They also enjoyed text, picture, and Twitter message displays on the video and ribbon boards and were offered the option of text-to-win sweepstake for a seat upgrade.

 

Both partners have previously tested this collaboration. Earlier this year, they came together to deliver interactive features at Phoenix Mercury home games. This trial was successful: Txtstation provided high-definition, real-time texting graphics through their software service platform “Txtstation Pro.” They also created a Chyron Lyric plug-in that allows real-time voting and text-to-screen capabilities for the Suns broadcasts on Fox Sports Arizona and MY45 in Phoenix.

 

Encouraged by the pilot, the Suns decided to extend the partnership and hope it will deliver additional value to their fans and sponsors.

 

Commenting on the alliance, Jeramie McPeek, vice president of Digital for the Phoenix Suns said that Txtstation is the right partner because they have the most capabilities in the mobile space.

 

McPeek appreciated their creative concepts that engage fans in a meaningful way, while also showcasing some of their valuable marketing partners.

 

“We look forward to a very exciting relationship,” McPeek said.

 

Michael Falato, vice president of Sales and Business Development for Txtstation said that they are equally thrilled to be working with the Suns. They are confident that their interactive features will help them create an unbelievable fan experience for their client.