It’s about 12 o’clock on Friday. Seeing as you’re in the Steel City, Primanti Brothers is the place to be on lunch break. So you walk in off Market Square as you scroll through your Facebook feed.
You’re meal is comprised of just one thing: Primanti’s “Almost Famous Sandwich”, consisting of your choice of meat topped with French fries and coleslaw. And you’re wise, so asking for the sandwich without slaw is out of the question.
The thing is, you’re a Pittsburgh native, so your choice of sandwich is based on it’s “all-in-one” capabilities, rooted in the fact that the sandwich was designed to make it easy for truckers to stop in and grab a quick bite to eat in the early days.
History aside, you reach for your smartphone, not only to answer e-mails, but because it has almost become a natural reaction.
The Pittsburgh Pirates play at 8 o’clock that night, so when ESPN mentions the Bucs, the TV has a portion of your attention. This is a connected world, so you quickly find the rest of your attention back on your Facebook feed, as your thumb pushes and pulls the screen to feed your need for “social fulfilment”.
Facebook’s mobile application separates content into single blocks. Your friend got a new puppy. Like that. A coworker is venting. Keep scrolling. Someone you vaguely remember from high school participates in #ThrowBackThursday. Irrelevant.
But then something catches your attention as you sip your iced tea: An advertisement block that reminds you tickets for tonight’s Pirates game are still available. Ironically, you’re actually interested in this ad.
But was the ad a coincidence?
Hyperlocal Facebook Ad Targeting
Because of Facebook’s new hyperlocal ad targeting–dubbed local awareness ads–businesses are able to deliver relevant ads more precisely than ever before:
“With local awareness ads, businesses can quickly and easily find new customers by showing ads to groups of people who are near that business’s neighborhood. Local awareness ads are built to be more cost-effective than traditional advertising channels, like newspapers, while offering more precise targeting and greater reach.”
You think about how useful that can be to sports teams like the Pirates or Pittsburgh Steelers, while you dip a stray French fry into the bottom of your basket. These local awareness ads are able to track users by utilizing their phone’s GPS services.
Simply put: Facebook ads can now be ultra-targeted to consumers within a single mile of a business. Intrigued by this, you look back at the original Facebook ad:
“10% off tickets to tonight’s Pirates vs Cubs game.”
A baseball team, like the Pirates, can take advantage of this new marketing tool. Seats that remain unsold for any given game translate to lost money for a sports team. By reducing the price by 10 percent on all unsold tickets and targeting fans within, say 5 miles of PNC Park, there is a good chance to turn empty seats into a home-field advantage. 
The clock says there’s a half hour left on your lunch break and you leave a thoughtful tip on the table as you depart Primanti Bros. Facebook local awareness ads have your attention as you start scrolling through your feed again.
The Business of Sports
As you meander down Forbes Avenue, another local ad pops up for the Steelers Sideline Store at Heinz Field.
Lucky for you the Sideline Store has a jersey sale for fans that are within a mile of the store. Mental note recorded.
The calendar in your phone then reminds you that you have a business trip in San Francisco in two weeks, which starts to churn gears in your head.
A free day on a business trip is great, but a free Sunday on a business trip during football season is a godsend. Even better, it’s the day the Steelers play the San Francisco 49ers.
Tickets have been ordered.
Two weeks and a four to five hour flight later, you land at San Francisco Airport.
Perhaps you find yourself at the In-N-Out Burger on Mission College Boulevard (because that’s where you find a cheap meal in California). Seeing as the burger chain is just under two miles from Levi’s Stadium, a quick scroll through your Facebook feed could yield some beneficial results.
Of course, you love going to football games. But at the same time, you sometimes find it difficult to keep up with your fantasy football team, news from around the league, and instant replays.
Levi’s Stadium is a technological mecca, so it makes sense that they are also utilizing Facebook’s local awareness ads. This time, though, it’s not an ad for discounted tickets.
This Levi’s Stadium advert actually hits your sweet tooth. The ad promotes the Levi’s Stadium mobile application and WiFi systems.
You “click” the ad and it takes you to your smartphone’s app store where it explains the app’s functionality. Have food delivered to your seat, control instant replays, and stadium navigation (to the shortest bathroom line, check).
Upon further thought, you are relieved to know that you will be so well connected at Sunday’s football game. Not only does this kind of ad promote the team’s product, but it’s great at promoting fan retention.
Facebook’s Hyperlocal Ads are For Fans
If hyperlocal ads had a Facebook Fan Page, you would be inclined to hit the “like” button.
[fanmob id=”0f13fa11-cba0-4770-8138-0e18712924bf”]
Local awareness ads have enough potential to fulfill a sports fan’s needs. From ticket sales and mobile application promotion, to event awareness and stadium highlights, it can all benefit the fan.
Not only do hyperlocal ads work on mobile devices when you walk within range of Levi’s Stadium, for instance, but the system utilizes cookies to ensure desktop computers are not forgotten.
And this is just the beginning for local ad targeting. The system as-is allows for a fan to receive discounts just for being within a mile of a stadium like Heinz Field.
Future iterations of Facebook’s hyperlocal advertising may include “geo-contextual” and “behavioral” insights, meaning ads based on a fan’s location (i.e. a mall) and then narrowed down by their individual characteristics.
Thanks to Facebook, marketers have a new Swiss Army Knife to use as a tool. Because of this, you and every other fan may start to find pesky ads more relevant, more useful with each step you take toward your favorite team’s stadium.