Calculator Charm in Philadelphia: Monroe's Fresh Approach to Classic Tools

Today, our interns spread some brotherly (and sisterly) love in Philadelphia. Passing out free Monroe calculators, along with a special offer coupon, they spent about 30 minutes in front of KPMG’s Philadelphia office. Alongside our Senior Sales and Marketing Manager, Jason, the interns piled into the car along with 320 of our 240Z calculators early Thursday morning. The plan was to show KPMG what Monroe was all about. With friendly smiles, outgoing personalities (and a lot of coffee from Square One Coffee!) the team managed to hand out all of the calculators for our first-ever marketing stunt.

The Idea

The idea came out of a brainstorming session when talking about a problem Monroe faces. When calculator sales were at a high, Monroe Systems had over 100 offices across the country! Even better, we had thousands of employees that went door-to-door selling Monroe products to businesses. Once the computer industry began booming the direct calculator salesman process became obsolete. Because of our long-lasting quality and durability, with calculators lasting for 30+ years and folks relying more on computers, Monroe sales slowed.

But, there are jobs that cannot go without a calculator, which is what helped Monroe weather the storm when computers were dominating offices and consuming budgets. Over the years more and more companies have become victims of identity theft and data breaches. Because of this, calculators and other office equipment that live off of the grid have started to experience a resurgence. The people in the office joke, “You can’t hack a calculator!”

Our goal from this stunt was to establish a relationship with a highly-renowned company filled with professional accountants and promote the most durable handheld calculator out there. Our hope is that they’ll put the coupon to good use. If they’re looking for a quality heavy-duty printing calculator the Monroe UltimateX is the ideal tool.

The Plan

We came up with a plan. We were going to take Philly by storm, with calculators! We created coupons and gathered all the Monroe 240Zs we could find! With thought-provoking messages and an offer no one could refuse, we packaged the handheld, colorful calculators. We loaded the car before the sun came up, and headed off! Singing to the classic “Eye of the Tiger,” we all prepared for the morning ahead of us in our matching attire. With high energy and love for Monroe, we set off with our boxes to get some awesome calculators into the hands of some awesome people. The reaction was great! Who doesn’t love getting a free gift that they can actually use on an early Thursday morning from some good-looking people?

The Results

The response was outstanding! We gave away all 320 calculators in 25 minutes; which is about 13 calculators a minute for all you math enthusiasts! Young and old, people were excited about the gift. We even saw a few chuckles from people reading our coupons with some clever math jokes. Did this reignite the spark that Monroe had in years past as the market leader in commercial calculators and office products? No, but at 16th and Market, we made an impression on 320 people throughout Center City Philadelphia. Surely, we have a few more busy fingers typing away on our calculators in the city of “brotherly love.”