Celebrating Innovation: Meet the 2024 PAR Punchh Customer Award Winners!

Attention restaurant marketers! We’re ecstatic to unveil the winners of the 2024 PAR Punchh Customer Awards! These nine trailblazing brands wowed us with their strategic brilliance and innovative flair. They crafted personalized 1:1 guest experiences that have driven impressive revenue growth and boosted customer lifetime value. 

“We are incredibly proud and excited to celebrate the customers who have truly excelled at capturing the hearts and minds of their loyal fans,” said Savneet Singh, CEO of PAR Technology. “Their dedication and innovative ideas have pushed the boundaries of what loyalty programs can achieve to deliver truly exceptional experiences for their customers. We couldn’t be more honored to recognize these outstanding brands.” 

Celebrating Excellence 

New this year, the awards were open to nominations from PAR Punchh’s global customer base of over 275 brands. These winners showcased excellence and innovation in customized loyalty program management, omnichannel engagement, digital campaigns, 1:1 personalized offers, and leveraging the PAR Punchh platform. In addition to delivering outstanding outcomes for the year, these award winners built a culture and community of engaged customers, taking creativity in new directions and driving their businesses forward through innovation. 

Congratulations PAR Punchh Sixth Annual Customer Award Winners

A huge congratulations to all the winners! Keep reading as we’ve proudly highlighted their achievements, showcasing each brand’s unique voice and approach to building relationships through campaigns that resonate with their customers and are delivered via their preferred channels. 

Rookie of the Year 
Church’s Texas Chicken®
Church’s Texas Chicken® launched its Church’s Real Rewards™ loyalty program in July 2024, achieving a notable success within six months of partnering with PAR Punchh. The brand’s proactive approach included leveraging detailed consumer insights, custom-tailored digital experiences, strong franchisee buy-in, and robust preparation for operational readiness, paving the way for a seamless rollout. This strategic foundation was critical in cementing Church’s reputation for customer dedication and innovative engagement strategies in the QSR industry.  

The launch was supported by a comprehensive omnichannel marketing campaign, featuring in-store promotions, a dedicated TV commercial, and a PR sweepstakes activation offering free chicken for a year to winning Real Rewards members. These efforts were complemented by engaging internal employee contests and exclusive Real Rewards™ merchandise, helping to enhance both internal and external enthusiasm for the program. The program’s launch surpassed its targeted goal with nearly 620,000 sign-ups and received high praise and adoption from loyalty members. Church’s Real Rewards™ exemplified exceptional performance and customer satisfaction, rightfully earning its Rookie of the Year title. 

Digital Innovator
Wendy’s
Wendy’s has consistently demonstrated a commitment to innovation within its loyalty program, Wendy’s Rewards™, utilizing cutting-edge technology and creative marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement and brand loyalty. Known for its fresh, never frozen beef* and signature square hamburgers, Wendy’s leverages its loyalty program to not only reward repeat customers but to also provide them with unique and engaging digital experiences. This approach has helped Wendy’s maintain a strong connection with its customer base, driving both engagement and sales through its mobile app and digital platforms.   

Wendy’s secured the Digital Innovator Award this year, largely due to the success of its SpongeBob SquarePants Word Scramble Campaign. This campaign, which was a digital component of the larger Krabby Patty Kollab campaign partnership with Nickelodeon, redefined digital engagement by cleverly integrating gamification with their loyalty program, allowing fans to engage in a fun and interactive way by unscrambling words to guess the Krabby Patty’s secret formula. This innovative approach drove over 8.5 million sessions and showcased Wendy’s ability to seamlessly execute a complex digital campaign across multiple platforms, including in-app messages, push notifications, email and web. The strategic brand partnership with Nickelodeon and Paramount+, and the effective use of first-party marketing tools, ensured high visibility and participation, making this campaign a standout success and a testament to Wendy’s prowess as a digital innovator in the QSR industry. 

*Fresh beef is available in the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada. 

Campaign Hotshot
Bar Louie
Bar Louie, known for its vibrant atmosphere and distinctive gourmet burgers, has continuously evolved its approach to customer engagement through its loyalty program. In 2024, the brand embarked on a strategic journey to not only incentivize current members with tailored challenges but also to broaden its reach by attracting new members with innovative acquisition strategies. By implementing varied campaigns that targeted both spend and visit frequency, Bar Louie effectively boosted customer participation and loyalty sales, reinforcing its commitment to enhancing the guest experience through creative and dynamic marketing efforts. 

Earning the Campaign Hotshot Award, Bar Louie excelled with several notable initiatives. The Burger Challenge and Black Friday Points Promotion increased visits and reward redemptions, respectively, while the App-vent Calendar offered escalating daily rewards, maintaining high engagement throughout the holiday season. Additionally, the App Acquisition Campaign significantly boosted new member sign-ups, contributing to a substantial increase in loyalty sales and program participation. These well-executed campaigns not only delivered impressive results but also redefined industry standards for customer engagement. 

Retention Rockstar
Farmer Boys
Farmer Boys has leveraged its partnership with Punchh to nurture a thriving loyalty program, the Very Important Farmer (VIF), which has outperformed top QSR benchmarks in retention rates for the past two years. This success perfectly shows the brand’s commitment to building lasting relationships by treating members like family, a core tenet of the Farmer Boys brand. 

The brand’s strategic initiatives in 2024 further cemented its reputation as a Retention Rockstar. The VIF app evolved to become a hub for exclusive deals, daily specials, and new online ordering, enhancing convenience and value for members. Key partnerships, like with the LA County Fair, added a fun and unique aspect to the loyalty experience. This comprehensive approach resulted in an 11.27% increase in loyalty sales and the highest signup rates since the program’s launch. These efforts not only maintained high retention rates but also attracted new members, showcasing Farmer Boys’ effective blend of emotional connection and tangible benefits. 

International Achiever
Paris Baguette
Paris Baguette has earned top international honors as a global bakery-café chain known for their high-quality pastries, breads, cakes, and beverages that combine French & European inspired traditions with modern flavors and trends. In 2024 their innovation extended beyond the kitchen as they launched a Punchh-powered reimagined loyalty program. The program launched with the U.S. mobile app as well as a new, dedicated Canadian app to significantly enhance guest engagement and grow their loyal fan base. 

The new Canadian app, including French translations, launched in September 2024 and resulted in an impressive 948% growth in membership. Paris Baguette U.S. also launched exciting challenges, convenient gift cards and SMS notifications, providing guests even more ways to engage and enjoy the brand. Their commitment to improving the guest experience led to strong system-wide loyalty sales growth and increased overall satisfaction. 

All Star
Condado Tacos
Condado Tacos’ Buds with Benefits loyalty program embodies its core values of fun, inclusivity, humility, commitment, and accountability. In 2024, as it celebrated its 10th anniversary, it took the program to the next level, infusing even more passion and adventure into the experience. This milestone became an opportunity to deepen connections with its most loyal customers.Furthermore, Founder and CIO Joe Kahn personally filmed over 30 unique Cameos for top guests, sparking excitement and nostalgia. Many recipients fondly remembered him from a decade ago. These personalized videos were sent through Punchh using Rich Message technology, generating enthusiastic responses.

Further enhancing personalization, Condado introduced customized rewards for their highest-tier loyalty members, the “Best Buds.” During each limited-time offer (LTO) launch in 2024, Best Buds could tailor their rewards by choosing from dollar discounts, free sides, or exclusive challenges. This resulted in a significant year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increase in LTO reward redemptions. Condado also launched Peezler’s Pass, blending its brand’s story and signature character into the Challenges module. Guests collected Peezler stamps to unlock exclusive dine-in rewards. In select markets, they could redeem Rich Message promotions for limited-edition Peezler merchandise. Guests who completed these challenges tripled their visit frequency compared to average loyalty members. 

Loyalty Royalty Leader
Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill
Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill has redefined loyalty program excellence earning them the 2024 Loyalty Royalty crown. Among its standout efforts, the Holiday Countdown campaign in December delivered 11 daily rewards via email, push notifications, and silent deliveries, achieving their highest participation rate of the year. By offering diverse incentives like free chips & queso upgrades, guests could choose when to engage, driving repeat visits and revealing key customer motivations.  

The campaign’s success was amplified by a May 2024 loyalty program restructuring, shifting from a points-earn model to a points-unlock system. This change reduced discount rates by 0.5% while enhancing personalization and sustainability. Leveraging the PAR Punchh platform’s advanced analytics, Salsarita’s gained granular insights into customer behavior, enabling data-driven campaign refinements. The results were transformative with monthly loyalty sales surging and December redemptions increasing by over 50% compared to the next highest month. This strategic blend of dynamic rewards, platform innovation, and customer-centric adjustments solidified Salsarita’s as a leader in loyalty-driven growth.  

Marketer of the Year
Alexis Puebla
Pancheros Mexican Grill, a fast-casual restaurant known for its fresh-pressed tortillas and Burritos Better Built®, has experienced significant growth in its loyalty program under Alexis Puebla’s leadership. As the Director of Digital Marketing, Alexis has enhanced the Pancheros’ app and loyalty initiatives with innovative campaigns such as social media promo code drops on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X. She captivates guests with primary campaigns and secondary background offers that have not only expanded Pancheros’ loyalty database and set a benchmark for integrating social media engagement with loyalty incentives.  

Alexis’s work stands out when evaluating the metrics. In Q4 2024, Pancheros surpassed the fast-casual 75th percentile participation rate and achieved a 47.25% retention rate, with guests averaging 2.97 check-ins per quarter. Her mastery of the Punchh platform and campaigns like Burritos with Benefits™ drove an impressive increase in loyalty sales, solidifying her as a strategic thinker and a Punchh power user. Alexis’s fun, data-driven, and customer-centric campaigns have redefined loyalty marketing in the fast-casual sector, earning her this well-deserved recognition.  

Customer Advocate of the Year 
Graeter’s Ice Cream
Graeter’s Ice Cream has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to customer advocacy, consistently going above and beyond as an active participant in the Voice of the Customer (VoC) program. Their ongoing engagement and dedication have played a pivotal role in shaping the development and refinement of products and services. As a cherished partner, Graeter’s has not only attended numerous events but has also contributed invaluable feedback that is both candid and constructive, embodying the true spirit of collaboration. 

The award for Customer Advocate of the Year is a recognition of Graeter’s substantial contributions, including their participation in key initiatives such as the Campaign Homepage Pilot, Segment Homepage User Testing, and Split Testing User Research. Their feedback has been crucial in every phase, from pilot programs to final implementations, ensuring continuous improvement and innovation. Graeter’s active involvement and insightful contributions have significantly influenced enhancements in product offerings, demonstrating their commitment to not just their own success but to the betterment of the entire program. Graeter’s exemplifies what it means to be a customer advocate, making them a deserving recipient of this honor. 

It’s Time to Elevate Your Loyalty Program

Join the ranks of these innovative brands and discover how the Punchh Platform can transform your customer relationships and drive remarkable growth. Contact us today to learn more and start your journey towards excellence!