Nebraska’s Beef Passport Case Study

It’s no secret that restaurants were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to support struggling restaurants throughout Nebraska, the Nebraska Beef Council launched a printed passport. The goal of the pass was simple - they wanted to inspire beef purchases at local restaurants.

But printing and mailing gets expensive, especially when you have a successful passport on your hands! The success of the printed passport led the council to consider digital options. Another benefit of a digital pass - it would make it that much easier for passholders to participate! That’s where Bandwango entered the picture.

“The addition of the digital passport allowed us to message users directly and reach more consumers,” said Adam Wegner, Director of Marketing for the Nebraska Beef Council. “It also created a much easier platform for participating because it did not require the users to maintain or mail back entry forms.”

The pass, which is free to sign-up for, features 44 restaurant locations throughout the state. Some of these locations offer discounts, while the others serve as check-in locations on the pass. Passholders who check-in and purchase beef at participating restaurants are entered in to win a sweepstakes drawing.

The Nebraska Beef Council’s Beef Passport launched in May 2022 and met a warm reception.

Success Metrics

• 1,592 sign-ups

• 2,076 check-ins

• 495 passes currently active

• 261 discount redemptions

The press release announcing the launch of the program helped drive sign-ups. Additionally, past passholders were sent an e-mail, so they could sign up for the new, digital version of the Nebraska Beef Passport. The Council also utilized social media and digital display advertising to promote to potential consumers. Some traditional media elements like radio and television buys were also included in the campaign.

One of the ways that Bandwango’s technology maximized the council’s impact is through our real-time reporting dashboard.

“We could track the activity of our passport in real time allowing us to adjust our marketing and advertising efforts accordingly,” Wegner said.

One point of frustration passholders experienced is when restaurant staff lacked training about the passport. This is one element of the pass experience the council has considered changing next year. That said, Bandwango’s platform allows the council to apply check-ins to passports through the dashboard, so feedback has stayed positive.

“The Bandwango platform allowed us to reach more people and to make participation in our program easier for the customer,” said Wegner.