Case Study / Restaurant Technology
How PAR launched a new platform with branded entertainment that made enterprise tech feel human.
PAR needed to roll out a major new division without sounding like one more dry software pitch. We built a hero film that broke the fourth wall, leaned into the brand's personality, and made a complex platform easy to understand in under three minutes.
3 Min
FULL STORY TOLD
5-8
PERSON CREW
Multi
CHANNEL LAUNCH ASSET
Client
PAR (PAR Technology)
Industry
Restaurant Technology
Location
Austin, Texas
Scope
Hero Film + Social Cutdowns
PAR Engagement / Launch Film / 02:53
The Hook
When Technology Becomes a Wedge
The tools built to connect restaurants to their guests were quietly pulling them apart.
In restaurant tech there is a strange irony. The tools built to connect a brand to its guests are often the same ones driving them apart. Most restaurant marketers are buried in data silos. One tool for loyalty, another for online ordering, a third for email, and none of them speaking the same language.
PAR, a global leader in restaurant technology, was launching a new division built to fix exactly that. The challenge was simple to say and hard to do. How do you introduce a sophisticated platform without sounding like another boring software pitch? You break the fourth wall, lean into the personality of the brand, and prove you understand the industry because you have lived it.
The Client
About PAR
Restaurant people building tools for restaurant people.
PAR Technology is a powerhouse in the restaurant tech space, providing point-of-sale, loyalty, and back-
office solutions to some of the largest restaurant brands in the world. They operate globally, and their
Austin corporate presence is a hub for innovation.
PAR is more than a software firm. They are restaurant people building tools for restaurant people. Their
mission is to help brands engage guests, drive traffic, and create the meals and moments that define the
dining experience.
The Challenge
The High Stakes of a Silent Launch
A major platform launch with no room to fall flat.
PAR invested heavily to engineer a solution that pulled marketing, ordering, and data into one growth engine. The risk was that the launch video would not match the size of the moment.
01
The amateur trap
An in-house video risked looking cheap and undercutting the premium feel of the new platform.
02
The boring tech trap
They had to explain complex data integration without losing the room to dry, technical jargon.Prospects lived across a dozen social platforms. None of them pointed back to one place.
03
Messaging complexity
The story had to span marketing offers all the way to real-time ROI, and do it in under three minutes.
04
The stakes
If the film failed to land, the entire rollout lost momentum at the exact moment it needed it most.
The Strategy
Architecting the Engagement Story
One hero film, built to live everywhere from the homepage to the sales meeting.
The goal was a hero video that could work across the website, email newsletters, and one-on-one sales meetings. Here is how we built it.
The Fourth Wall Concept
We opened with the speaker asking, do I look at the camera or you, and fussing over their hair. That single move lowered the viewer’s guard and made a massive tech firm feel human and relatable.
Scripted Meets Organic
We used a tight script for the core data points, then left room for off-the-cuff documentary moments so the whole thing kept an authentic feel.
Advanced Animation
To solve the data silo problem on screen, we used animation and compositing to show disparate tools connecting into one unified engine.
High-End Commercial Look
Even with the humor, the lighting and camera movement stayed ultra-polished to reinforce the brand’s enterprise-level authority.
Production
Capturing the Human Side of Tech
A high-energy shoot that felt intentional and premium.
To capture the real PAR culture, our crew worked fast and kept the set feeling modern, not corporate.To capture the truth of the athletic journey, we shot it like a sports doc. Big movement. Tight emotion. Nothing fake.
Step 01 / The Crew
A team built for the bit.
We deployed a professional crew of 5 to 8 specialists, including a dedicated hair and makeup artist to play into the meta humor written into the script.
STEP 02 / THE PROCESS
Speed of trust from frame one.
We moved through multiple setups inside a rented high-end location to build visual variety and keep the film fast-paced.
Step 03 / Creative Pacing
Commercial-grade craft.
We shot on cinema-grade cameras and lighting to hit a commercial look that outperforms standard corporate video.
Post Production
Pacing for High Engagement
We cut for comedy timing and for clarity at the same time.
We placed the software UI directly inside the story with advanced compositing, so the data felt tactile and easy to follow instead of abstract. The sound design layered clean, driving audio with authentic set sounds to hold the behind-the-scenes vibe.
From there we worked through multiple layers of revisions, dialing in the timing of the comedic beats and the integration of custom graphics. Then we cut the film down into social versions so PAR had content well beyond the single launch moment.
The Results
A confident rollout, built to keep working.
PAR launched the new division with a hero film engineered to run across every channel.
34%
New business
PAR has pointed to new business growth tied to the campaign. Confirm the exact figure before publishing.
FASTER
Speed of trust
The sales team folded the film into prospecting, using it to build trust earlier in conversations.The app won its category at SXSW, helped by the polish the campaign brought to judges and investors.
ON-BRAND
Launch-ready asset
A polished, on-brand film anchored the rollout across the website, newsletters, and sales meetings.
REUSABLE
A content library
The cutdowns gave PAR ongoing assets that live on long after launch day.
From the Film / Brand Narrative
“To us, this isn't just software. It's a better way to grow. Built by people who care about restaurants and know restaurants.”
PAR / LAUNCH FILM NARRATIVE
Takeaways
Why It Worked
This worked because in B2B tech, you are still selling to humans.
Cinematic visuals and a meta-driven story turned a software launch into an industry moment.
01 / ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment wins.
Educational content does not have to be dry. If people enjoy watching, they remember your message.
02 / HUMANITY
Humanize the enterprise.
A little personality makes a global firm feel relatable and lowers the buyer’s guard.
03 / Structure
Visualize the solution.
Use animation to show how you break down data silos instead of just talking about it.
04 / INSURANCE
Invest in the launch.
A professional film is the insurance policy on the success of a new product rollout.
More Case Studies
See how we have moved the needle for other brands.
Family Services / Non-Profit
Ally Way
A Mission Storytelling Engine
A family-focused organization needed a story-driven video system that would build trust with the families they serve and the donors who fund the mission. We delivered a flagship story film and a library of personal stories from the people behind the work.
Family
Mission
Storytelling
Storytelling
Read the Full Case Study →
Home Services
JP II Life Center
A Donor Trust Engine
A Texas non-profit providing care and education to pregnant women needed donor-facing video that built trust without sensationalism. We produced a flagship mission film and a series of personal stories from the women and families they serve.
Donor
Trust & Mission
Storytelling
Storytelling
Read the Full Case Study →