Hi. I’m Doug Pick. I’m the founder and owner of the HEAROS ear plugs. If you’ve ever passionately believed in a dream and your abilities to achieve what other would deem impossible, than the story of HEAROS ear plugs just may entertain, inspire and cause you to think differently.
In 1992, from my apartment in Studio City, California, I created the HEAROS brand because I was just a regular ear plug user that, perhaps just like you, wasn’t happy with the products available. As a result, after doing due diligence and performing a viability study, that I learned as a graduate of USC’s Entrepreneur Program, I invested my life’s savings of $15,000 and went to work. As a small business owner, I can tell you that there hasn’t been a single day over the past 24 years that I haven’t thought about HEAROS.
Like the dozens of wonderful folks that work with our company, we’re passionate and committed to ensuring that all that come in to contact with HEAROS have the best experience. The HEAROS story is one of always being the underdog and a David verse Goliath that must use everything he’s got in his tool box in order to defeat his opponent. All in all, the HEAROS journey has been incredibly rewarding. For the time that I have your attention, I’d like to share some insights about our company, history and what we’re up to so that you that can learn a little bit about us.
When I made the decision to start an ear plug company, the concept hinged on 7 simple words: bring high-quality ear plugs to users. Interestingly enough, our original focus hasn’t changed one iota nearly a quarter century later. HEAROS is all about quality. It’s important to note that while those "not in the know" might think that “an ear plug is an ear plug”, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As you can learn by watching “Are All Ear Plugs Created Equal?”, there are specific design and formulation attributes that are important to learn so that you can identify a good ear plug from one that may not best protect, fit or feel comfortable in your ears.
In addition to having high-quality ear plugs, from a branding and marketing perspective, I wanted to be an innovative trail blazer by doing things no other had done. First, the brand name, HEAROS. Where did it come from? When surveying the market, I recognized that others had names that were boring or had negative connotations. I believed that my new brand ought to convey "friendly protection”. Then I thought that a “hero" is the embodiment of a friendly protector so if I inserted an “A” between the “E” and “R” of “hero” a new brand that had the words “hear” as well as “ear” would be embedded and could be an interesting play on “hero”. I will never forget the moment this “gift” was delivered to me. I was at my father’s home brainstorming in the den on a pad of paper. Then the word HEAROS appeared on the paper. It was as if everything slowed down and became crystal clear. In that moment, a voice inside me said “That’s it! You got it!” From that day forward, I've never wavered in the six all capital letters that make up the word HEAROS. I have to tell you one other side note related to the brand name. Once I “discovered” the brand HEAROS, I knew I had to do a trademark search to make sure that HEAROS was available for use. That was July of 1992. Upon doing the search (which was long before the instant ease of searching on the internet!), I learned that the previous owner of the HEAROS mark had abandoned it just days before! Coincidence or fate? You decide. Regardless, I filed what is called an “intent to use” trademark application and the rest, they say, is history!
Once the brand HEAROS was found, the next logical step was to design a package. Well, one distinct challenge to this task was that I had never designed a package before. So being a resourceful kind of guy, I developed my own strategy. I ventured out to my local Thrifty Drug Store and just started walking the aisles. I did this for hours upon hours. I was trying to pick up clues from big brands like Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Coca Cola and the like. I reasoned that if I could understand the packaging philosophies of the big guys then I could leverage their techniques. Ultimately, for the maiden voyage of the HEAROS packages, I landed on emulating a ChapStick box (See attached). Since that time, the HEAROS packages have been updated more than 20 times over the past 24 years and, as the sole package architect, I still do the same thing as I did back in 1992…I walk the aisles!
Once the brand and packaging were secured, the next step was putting together what would later be called a "360 degree marketing campaign”. I had learned from my 88 year old, street smart and entrepreneurial grandfather, Manuel Zimberoff, that it was important to “sell the sizzle, not the steak” so designing an all encompassing marketing plan was critical. Similar to my lack of experience in consumer packaging, when it came to marketing, I had not one but two challenges: HEAROS had essentially no marketing budget and I had no product marketing experience. That said, HEAROS did have two things going for it. One, I was extremely passionate about the HEAROS mission and two, I believed that where there was a will, there was a way.
To date, HEAROS and its sister brand, Sleep Pretty in Pink, are two of the most successfully marketed ear plug brands having been featured on national tv, radio, print and throughout the internet. We’ve been honored to be featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, LA Times Magazine and interviewed by Jenna Lee of Fox Business (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8O5Gnfi1pU). Additionally, HEAROS business philosophies have been showcased in books such as What’s Your BQ? by Sandra Seilani and Thoughts Are Things (The Think And Grow Rich Series) by Bob Proctor and Greg Reid.
From a sales stand point, we’ve been blessed to have earned the loyal support of America’s greatest retailers including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Kroger, HEB, Albertsons Safeway, Bartell Drug, Amazon.com and Guitar Center. With the introduction of our manufacturing company and having created 24 ear plug patents, we now have a budding industrial division servicing the needs of today’s safety professionals.
Believe it or not, even though HEAROS is about to celebrate its quarter century birthday, we know that the best is yet to come. I was once asked “what do you need to get right when running a company?” My knee jerk response was one simple word…everything! In my experience, the heart soul of getting everything right is hard work. There is no substitute for it. As my father, Jerry Pick, once shared “if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” At HEAROS, we love what we do and have tremendous purpose behind our work.
In closing, I’d like you to know how much we value and appreciate the extraordinary support of our HEAROS fans. On Facebook, we have more followers than any other ear plug brand in the world. Our fans are every day people like you and me. Should you be a current fan of HEAROS or considering joining the HEAROS movement, we hope you’ll appreciate our old fashioned virtues and friendly customer support. Through our passion for our mission combined with our commitment to innovation, we hope to be able to delight you and your ears for a life time.
I’m all ears! If you’d like to say hello or ask me a question, please feel comfortable to send a note through to info@hearos.com and type "About Us for Doug" in the subject line. I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Doug
