Explore Cabarrus Took Creative Burgers and Turned Them Into a Mobile Experience That Generated More Than $160,000 in Revenue for Local Restaurants in 30 Days

Cabarrus Burger Madness is an annual, one-month program that runs from March 1-31. Local restaurants create unique, limited-time burgers and compete for bragging rights and a Golden Burger trophy. Julie Hinson is Explore Cabarrus’ Director of Communications and she explained, “They can go as far as they want creatively and just build something that is totally out of the box. It just can’t be something that is already on their menu.” 

Some chefs use donuts and waffles as buns, and others stack their burgers high with pork rinds or fried green tomatoes. Other creative recipes incorporate different ingredients, like this year’s champion, Lee’s Sandwich Shop, creator of “Lee’s Burgerizza Mama Mia.” 

This initiative began during the pandemic to help local restaurants during a time of need and the experience was originally housed on Explore Cabarrus’ website. Hinson shared, “Once we really started down the path, and the mobile pass came into view, we saw this was something that would really be key to the evolution of this program.” In 2024, the destination marketing organization began their relationship with Bandwango and moved Cabarrus Burger Madness to a mobile format.

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In-Pass Voting 

The mobile pass has seen significant growth since then and Hinson smiled as she shared the results of their March 2026 campaign, saying, “We estimated about $160,000 in sales for our local restaurants for this past year. That's a significant impact, and really exciting.” That estimate reflects burger sales only, but the total amount of revenue generated from the program is actually more. “We're seeing these folks go in and purchase the burgers, but we know there are also additional sales that are coming from things like dessert, appetizers, or sides, which is certainly the goal.” 

She feels the mobile experience has helped make the process easier for passholders as they make their journey throughout Cabarrus County and taste all of the scrumptious creations. “It was helpful on so many different levels,” she said. “It is so much more interactive.”  

As diners are visiting restaurants, they are also encouraged to vote on their favorite. Since Explore Cabarrus made the move to a mobile pass, users can now vote directly from their mobile device. Voting is open for the last week of March and the winner is announced on April 2. 

“The in-pass voting was really a game changer for us,” she said. When Cabarrus Burger Madness lived on their website, participants could vote on a landing page. However, Hinson feels that the current method of voting serves as a better experience for passholders. “I think having the mobile pass really gives you that flexibility to change your vote if you tried another burger you like better, and make sure that you check them all off before you vote for one.”

‍Marketing the Pass

Making the move to a mobile pass was a game-changer, but the destination marketing organization is also doing a great job of marketing Cabarrus Burger Madness in a variety of ways. 

• Explore Cabarrus is leveraging social media and utilizing Facebook and Instagram to share their message. In addition to just using social media to promote the pass, Hinson and her team see it as a tool to help guide passholders through the process. She said, “We're doing social media features, and how-tos on how to use the pass, sign up, and check in. Those videos are so helpful for people who are first-time users with the mobile pass. It lets them see the functionality of the pass and how simple and easy it is to use.”

• Influencers help spread the message, too. She said, “In addition to us going out and capturing content and doing features on every individual restaurant and every burger, we're working with social media influencers to tell the story to their audiences and amplify that.” 

• A full spread in their annual visitor guide promoting Cabarrus Burger Madness includes photos of the burgers. 

• They send a series of press releases. The first press release is sent in January, and that pre-promotes the new season of Cabarrus Burger Madness. The second press release in February reveals the line-up, and the final press release in April reveals the winner.  

• The DMO participates in earned media opportunities that are generated from the outreach to the media, but they extend these prized opportunities to their partners, too. Hinson explained, “There have been a lot of times where our local broadcast stations have welcomed partners to come on and have had the winners of past years make their burgers on the local morning show. It's been really fantastic to offer them those opportunities."

• Cabarrus Burger Madness is also promoted in the local visitor’s center. “When you walk in our visitor center during the month of March, you will not leave without hearing about Burger Madness and seeing all of the delicious places to eat. We've even got little packets of hand wipes that visitors can take with them once they finish their burger,” said Hinson. “Those come in handy, and little fun things like that really encourage folks to get engaged with the program and visit our local restaurants.”

• Written blog posts on the DMO’s website help keep the campaign relevant all year. Some burgers end up being such a hit that they find a permanent spot on a restaurant’s menu. Explore Cabarrus has a story on their website that lets visitors know where they can find these special culinary creations any time of the year. 

Results

Hinson shared, “This program is really meeting the goal of driving folks into the restaurants.” 

Part of that observation is based on consistent communication with the restaurants, and she added, “We’ve heard feedback from our restaurants that this program really was essential to boosting their sales at that time of year and gaining new customers.” 

The numbers speak for themselves.

In the sixth year of the program, Cabarrus Burger Madness broke its own records. 

• $160,000+ in estimated sales in March 2026 
• More than 9,500 burgers sold in March 2026
• 1,599 total passholders 
• 2,524 check-ins 
• Passholders from 14 different states 
• 647 passholders who opted in for more information from Explore Cabarrus 

Although the DMO did not put an estimate on burgers sold in the first year of the program, in 2022 they estimated there were more than 4,500 sold. The program’s impact has more than doubled since its inception. 

This initiative has been around for six years, and has also picked up a couple of awards along the way. 

• Winner of two North Carolina Travel Industry Tourism Achievement Awards 

• Awarded Gold in the Leisure Marketing Category in 2022
• Awarded Gold in the Social Media Marketing Category in 2025

Seven Tips for Success From Explore Cabarrus 

Be authentic. 

Hinson said, “First and foremost, I think being authentic to your destination certainly is important. In any destination where DMOs are utilizing the Bandwango platform for whatever trail or passport they've put together, I think being authentic to your destination and utilizing that as a storytelling tool is so key. Stick to the identity, the brand, and let your partner's stories shine by utilizing that platform.”

Promote the experience. 

“I think integrating your marketing initiatives is also key.” Hinson explained. “Whatever creative way that you can approach it, as long as it's aligned with your brand and authenticity of your destination, have fun with it and just approach it in all the different ways that gets that buzz going and gets other people excited about it.”

Consider creating a food-themed experience for your destination.

“Dining is something that always rounds out that experience and is something that you want to take part in when you visit a destination,” said Hinson. “If there's something, culinary-wise that represents a place, you always want to take part in that.”

Communicate with your partners. 

“When deciding to introduce a program like this, communicating often and communicating effectively to your partners who are participating is key,” explained Hinson. “Being able to communicate the goal of the program and share the tools that they need to be successful is certainly key to the overall success of the program.”

Provide partners with a toolkit. 

She explained, “You need to make sure that they have the tools that they need to confidently share about the program. We provide information on what the program is, and how to use the pass. We give them all of the tools that they need to be successful, like the great Cabarrus Burger Madness logo and photographs of the burger.” Prior to each year’s campaign, Explore Cabarrus has a photographer do a photo shoot with every burger so that each restaurant has that imagery to use. Hinson explained the importance of the toolkit, saying, “They’re able to share their participation in the program and get their audiences and their diners excited about it, too.” 

Make it a mobile experience. 

“Overall, being able to integrate the mobile pass and take it to the next level has been key for not only the passholder experience, but also for us as a destination marketing organization. It lets us be able to have the insights that we need to provide a better experience year after year.”

Ask for feedback and continue improving the experience year after year. 

After six years of Cabarrus Burger Madness, Hinson shared that continuing to evolve is part of what they attribute to the longevity and success of the pass – and that goes back to communication. “Welcome the feedback,” she said. “And keep your program fresh based on that feedback. So whether it's word of mouth, the information that we're asking partners to share after the program, or the insights that the Bandwango platform provides, taking all of that information collectively and being able to say, ‘Okay, how can we improve next year?’ is really important.”

Conclusion

“You know, this program was never meant to stick around as long as it has,” admitted Hinson. “It was really just meant to be this thing that would support our restaurants during a time of need. But after we saw how well received and popular it was by our local community, we let it go for another year, and another year. We are now approaching our seventh year in 2027, and are so excited about the way that the program has evolved. I think the mobile pass has been really key to that.”

And don’t be surprised if there are other new experiences coming to Cabarrus in the future. They’ve already used the platform to create another successful pass – The Explore and Pour Cabarrus County Beverage Trail. 

“I think Bandwango offers so much customization and flexibility to really create passes and trails like these, that are suited to a destination so specifically. We're always keeping that in mind and looking for new ideas and ways that might make sense. Knowing that tool is available to us is really important when we think about how we're marketing our destination and how we're encouraging visitors to be immersed in our destination. I’m excited to see what the future holds and keep that in mind for other purposes. It certainly has been something that has helped elevate this program for sure.”

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If you’re interested in taking a page from the Explore Cabarrus playbook and driving $160,000+ into your local restaurants in a one-month period, let’s talk. Book a free demo with our team to learn more about how you can create your own food-themed experience.

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