NCR Corporation

The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act became a federal requirement in response to major corporate scandals and a decline in public trust. The Act requires enhanced disclosure and strict reporting practices. The Information Technology Services (ITS) group at NCR was tasked with meeting SOX compliance for the international corporation. The new reporting requirements added to the department’s already heavy workload. So, management wanted to rejuvenate the group after completing a long and tedious process which led to compliance. The team consisted of over 130 associates spread across three countries and several U.S. states.

To thank the ITS team for its efforts, management enlisted Bing Design for help creating an appreciation campaign. The goal was to design a fun giveaway incorporating SOX – an inherently dry topic – into the theme. Although the audience was very tech savvy, management did not want to give away a “gadget” or “techie” item. The thank you gift needed more spirit and fun.

Playing on the acronym “SOX”, Bing introduced a sock monkey theme – “ITS keeps the SOX monkey off your back!” As a thank you gift, each ITS team member received a sock monkey.

To keep the SOX monkey off ITS management’s back, Bing Design managed the entire production process and prepared the monkeys for distribution. This involved assembling and hand-stamping personalized monkey crates, dressing the sock monkeys, adding a personal message tag, packaging them individually, and then shipping appropriate quantities to each field office.

Needless to say, recipients were not expecting to receive sock monkeys wearing hoodies. The sheer uniqueness of such a gift caused quite a stir and much conversation around the water cooler. The objective of bringing some fun energy back to the group was met, and many employees keep their monkeys in their office cubes as a reminder of the successful completion of a long and difficult task.