GoCal says Restaurant Month drove local visits, digital passport saw 1,000+ downloads

Representatives from GoCal told the Rancho Cucamonga City Council that a July Restaurant Month campaign helped draw customers to local eateries and produce measurable marketing results.

"We used a new digital passport program this year, and we saw over 1000 people download and use that all the way from Los Angeles to Hesperia," Kelsey Woodward, GoCal's director of marketing and communications, said during the presentation. Woodward said the initiative recorded "over 600 check ins and redemption offers," and that 400 of those check-ins came from Rancho Cucamonga residents.

Woodward described prize incentives and influencer videos used to promote participating restaurants, and said GoCal partnered with outlets including Good Day LA, Fox 11 and ABC7. "We had 4 segments with Good Day LA...that resulted in almost 3,000,000 impressions," she said, adding an estimated publicity value the organization attributed to that coverage.

The presentation noted that 17 of the 31 participating restaurants were based in Rancho Cucamonga and that eight of the program's top 10 restaurants were local. GoCal suggested the campaign helped restaurants recover foot traffic, with at least one Ontario restaurant reporting it sold out an item two weeks in a row after participating.

Council members thanked the delegation and recorded no questions on the Restaurant Month metrics. GoCal framed the activity as part of a broader strategy to increase visitation and overnight stays in the region.