Messages and Campaigns (Automated Notifications) | Passtastic Help

Messages and Campaigns (Automated Notifications)

Looking for the Automations page? It's been replaced. Automated notifications now live inside each program as Messages and Campaigns. Open a program and switch to the Campaigns tab to manage them.

Messages vs. Campaigns

Both are automated — they fire on their own when a condition is met. The difference is what the customer receives:

  • Message — a push notification only. Good for reminders, greetings, and gentle nudges.
  • Campaign — a push notification plus a reward. The reward can be automatic (add stamps or points), or a message your staff sees on the scanner when the customer visits (e.g. "15% off — birthday").

Both types appear side by side in the Campaigns tab with a small `MESSAGE` or `CAMPAIGN` badge so you can tell them apart.

Where to find them

1. Click Programs in the sidebar.

2. Open the program you want to edit.

3. Switch to the Campaigns tab.

You'll see all the campaigns and messages for that program grouped by trigger type (Always-on, Scheduled, Event-triggered).

How to create one

1. From the Campaigns tab, click + Add Campaign.

2. Pick a template (Birthday, Win-back, Welcome, Weekly) or start from scratch.

3. Choose a trigger — see trigger types below.

4. Configure the reward:

  • What should this campaign do? — *Notification only* (a Message) or *Notification + reward* (a Campaign).
  • Push notification message — what the customer sees on their phone.
  • What appears on the card — optional text shown on the wallet pass.
  • What your staff sees — what appears on the scanner when the customer visits (only for rewards).
  • Auto-add stamps or points — optional; automatically adds stamps/points when the campaign fires.
  • How long is it valid for? — how long the reward stays active.

5. Set eligibility (How often can a customer get this?):

  • Once ever — a customer can receive it one time only.
  • Once per period — e.g. once every 30 days.
  • Every time — unlimited, every time the trigger fires.

6. Set scheduling (hour, minute, customer timezone). Notifications are sent in each customer's local time.

7. Click Save & activate to turn it on, or Save draft to finish later.

Trigger types

Campaigns are grouped into three categories in the picker:

On a date

TriggerWhen it fires
BirthdayOn a customer's birthday (with day-offset: day before, on the day, or day after)
AnniversaryOn each customer's signup anniversary
Calendar dateSpecific dates you pick (e.g. 03-08 for Women's Day, 12-25 for Christmas)
Weekly recurringOn specific days of the week (e.g. every Friday)

Based on behavior

TriggerWhen it fires
WinbackWhen a customer hasn't visited in X days
Visit milestoneAfter a customer reaches N visits (e.g. 10th visit)
Balance thresholdWhen stamps or points reach a certain level
Expiration reminderX days before a customer's card or coupon expires

After an event

TriggerWhen it fires
WelcomeWhen a new customer adds the card
First visitOn the customer's first scan
Post visitA delay after any scan (minutes, hours, or days)
Card completedWhen a customer fills their stamp card
Coupon redeemedAfter a customer redeems a coupon
Level upWhen a customer reaches a new membership level

Plan availability

TriggerSingle LocationMulti-LocationGroups & Brands
Birthday
All other triggers

Customers on the free plan can browse the campaign editor but cannot activate a campaign. A crown icon marks any trigger that needs a plan upgrade — clicking it opens the upgrade screen.

Managing campaigns and messages

From the Campaigns tab inside a program you can:

  • Activate / Pause — turn a campaign on or off without deleting it.
  • Edit — change the reward, timing, or eligibility.
  • Delete — remove it permanently.
  • View claim stats — see how many customers received it and how many were actually claimed at the counter.

Common questions

Where did the Automations page go?
Automations are now part of each program. Open a program and switch to the Campaigns tab. Push-only automations now appear with a `MESSAGE` badge; the ones with rewards appear with a `CAMPAIGN` badge.
Can I send a campaign across all my programs at once?
Yes. In the editor, check Apply to all programs and the campaign will run for customers on any of your cards.
Can I test a campaign before it goes live?
Save it as a draft, install the card on your own phone, and trigger the condition (e.g. scan yourself). Once it behaves as expected, switch it to active.
Why didn't my campaign send?
Check that: - The campaign is Active (not draft or paused). - The customer timezone is correct. - The eligibility rule hasn't already been exhausted (e.g. "Once ever" means each customer gets it one time). - The customer matches the trigger — for birthdays, the card must collect birthday data.
Can a customer receive multiple campaigns at once?
Each customer receives at most one campaign or message every 4 hours, even if several would fire at the same time. This prevents notification fatigue. The rest are skipped until the cooldown expires.
What's the difference between a Message and a Campaign, again?
A Message sends a push notification only. A Campaign sends a push and does something more — shows a reward on the wallet card, adds stamps/points automatically, or tells your staff to apply a discount at the counter.