We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful MELODY DEVEMARK. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with MELODY below.
Alright, MELODY thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.
Since 1995 we’ve sold a full line of OTC natural anti-snoring solutions. A few years back, I saw a unique opportunity to create a version for pets since nowadays over 50% of pet owners sleep with their furry best friend. Not only were customers being disturbed by their partner’s snoring but also their pets. SnoreStop for Pets was created. My associates were doubtful that there was an actual need or demand for it. I attended the largest pet trade show, Global Pest Expo to introduce the product to the marketplace. By the end of the show I had a signed Vendor agreement with PetCo. Today, it is still the only anti-snoring solution for pets on the marketplace and the demand has increased.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
After graduating college, I started working in Public Relations in Los Angeles but I lacked passion. My job wasn’t fulfilling. When SnoreStop’s distribution expanded nationwide in giant retailers such as Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS the company needed someone to manage all the sales managers and travel to meet with store buyers. I saw an opportunity to work alongside my father who was VP of Sales and Marketing at that time. Over the years I saw how passionate he was about SnoreStop since he developed the concept and formed a relationship with the Naturopathic doctor who formulated it. I got to see first-hand how ‘the sausage was made’ and started to see all adoring correspondence from customers who actually used the product. SnoreStop was created out of love. My father, back in 1995 started snoring and the only option in-stores were nasal strips. he could not fathom wearing something on his face all night long, nor did he think it would be attractive. Sleeping in separate bedrooms was not an option. After creating the first product, the chewable tablets, he went on to create a throat spray, then a nasal spray, since snoring is a multifactorial issue. It’s not a ‘one size fits all’ issue. It can occur in three locations: back of the throat, in the mouth, or in the nose. We created targeted solutions to help every type of snorer.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In 2020 when COVID 19 hit, we knew foot traffic in-stores were going to dwindle. We decided to focus on growibg online and direct to consumers through our website. We had to quickly learn everything about ecommerce. digital advertising/marketing, and what we could offer that we couldn’t before when we were selling our products mainly in brick-and-mortar stores.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Back on January 5th, 2005 we placed a bid on eBay for $37,375 to advertise our brand on a young man’s forehead. This had never been done in the US before. People thought we were crazy. What they didn’t understand was that it was a genius marketing idea to get media coverage and gain International brand awareness. It would’ve cost millions of dollars at the time to get the kind of exposure we received. It’s been a case study in multiple marketing books, to this day I still get email offers from people offering to use parts of their body to advertise our brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.snorestop.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/snorestop
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/snorestopusa
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/snorestop