Presto · Senior Product Manager
Presto Games Content Portfolio
Jan 2019 - Nov 2020
Managed 8-figure gaming portfolio across 30M monthly users in 4,000+ restaurants, delivering 7.5% YoY revenue growth (3× industry standard).
TL;DR: Transformation & Impact
Key Outcomes
- Managed 8-figure gaming portfolio across 30M monthly users
- 4,000+ restaurant deployments (Applebee's, Chili's, Red Lobster, Denny's)
- Increased revenue 7.5% YoY (3× industry standard)
- Closed landmark deals with Marvel and Hasbro
- Deployed branded games on pay-at-table tablets
What Changed
Context
Presto (now part of Shift4) provides pay-at-table tablets to casual dining restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's, Red Lobster, and Denny's. These tablets enable customers to order, pay, and play games while waiting for their food.
As Senior Product Manager, I owned the gaming content portfolio: an 8-figure revenue line reaching 30M monthly users across 4,000+ restaurant locations. My responsibility was maximizing engagement and revenue while managing complex B2B2C relationships with restaurant chain partners.
Challenge
The gaming portfolio had grown organically without strategic direction:
- No performance visibility: Large game library with unclear understanding of what drove engagement and revenue.
- Generic content: Most games were undifferentiated from free mobile alternatives, limiting willingness to pay.
- Complex deployment: Pushing content to tablets in 4,000+ restaurants required coordinating with multiple chain IT departments.
- Diverse audience: User base ranged from kids to adults with very different gaming preferences and patience levels.
What I Did
Portfolio Analysis & Optimization
Inherited a large game library with no systematic understanding of what worked. Analyzed play patterns, revenue per title, and engagement metrics to identify top performers and underperformers.
Tradeoff: Sunset several games that had internal champions; required data-driven justification.
Marvel & Hasbro Partnership Deals
Generic games couldn't command premium pricing or differentiate from competitors. Negotiated licensing deals with Marvel and Hasbro to create branded gaming experiences.
Tradeoff: Higher content costs but significantly improved revenue per user and restaurant partner retention.
Restaurant Deployment Coordination
Pushing content to 4,000+ restaurant tablets required coordinating with multiple restaurant chain IT departments, each with different update schedules and requirements.
Tradeoff: Slower rollout velocity but ensured stability; one bad push could affect millions of users.
Revenue Model Optimization
Existing monetization relied on impulse purchases. Analyzed purchase patterns and optimized pricing, timing, and presentation to increase conversion.
Tradeoff: Some changes required restaurant chain approval, creating partnership complexity.
Content Calendar & Planning
Ad-hoc content updates created operational chaos. Implemented systematic content calendar aligned with movie releases, holidays, and restaurant promotional cycles.
Tradeoff: Less flexibility for reactive content but much more predictable operations and results.
Impact & Results
Systematic portfolio management and premium content partnerships transformed the gaming business from a commodity into a differentiated value driver for restaurant partnerships.
30M
Monthly Users
8-Figure
Portfolio Revenue
4,000+
Restaurant Deployments
7.5%
YoY Revenue Growth
3×
Industry Standard
Marvel + Hasbro
Landmark Deals
Restaurant Tablet Gaming Experience
Presto tablets: Order, Play, Pay deployed at Applebee's, Chili's, Denny's & Red Lobster
Presto pay-at-table tablet featuring Marvel-branded games, deployed in 4,000+ restaurants
Key Takeaways
Branded Content Commands Premium
Generic content is commoditized. Licensing recognizable IP (Marvel, Hasbro) transformed casual games into experiences worth paying for.
Scale Requires Systematic Operations
Managing 4,000+ deployments can't be done ad-hoc. Building operational processes and content calendars enabled scale without proportional headcount.
B2B2C Requires Multiple Stakeholder Alignment
Every change affected restaurant partners, their customers, and our internal teams. Success required aligning incentives across all stakeholders.
Data Overcomes Politics
Sunset decisions for underperforming games were politically sensitive. Clear data on performance made difficult conversations possible.
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