Page 52 - AVN June 2018

PLEASURE PRODUCTS | NEWS
Putting the ‘We’ in Vibrators Bruce and Melody Murison look back at 10 years of Standard Innovation
Melody Murison sipped beverages next to
It was a recent spring day when Bruce and
By Sherri L. Shaulis
The product was immediately embraced by the
industry, customers and sex educators.
the outdoor pool of a hotel on the Las Vegas
TV celebrity and author Sue Johnson and Dr.
Strip. The two were enjoying the quiet after
Laura Berman (both of whom have developed
hosting a party the night before to mark the
their own lines of sex toys with industry-leading
10-year anniversary of their company, Standard
manufacturers) sang the We-Vibe’s praises, and the
Innovation, and its flagship product, the We-
wunderkind vibrator even received a shout-out in
Vibe.
a segment that aired on Oprah’s website. By the
The husband-and-wife team are well known
following year, the We-Vibe was even included in
in the industry these days, but it’s a far cry
swag bags at the Academy Awards gifting suite.
from where they started. When Bruce was laid
In the decade that has passed, the Murisons
off from his tech job at Nortel, he and Melody
and the company have seen significant changes:
decided to make a drastic change. The couple
Bruce took a few years off from the day-to-day
packed up their kids, sold off some of their
operations of Standard Innovation, returning as
belongings and set out to travel across Australia,
CEO in 2014. The company has grown from the
living out of tents and carrying what they could
Murisons’ basement to a Canadian-based enterprise
in backpacks.
that employs more than 40 people. But at its core,
“We learned a lot on that trip,” Melody said.
Standard Innovation still listens to its customers.
“We realized we didn’t need ‘stuff.’ We knew we
“Over the years, we’ve heard uses for the original
could get by and survive with essentials.”
We-Vibe that we never expected,” Murison said.
“We had rented out the house and that was
That type of feedback, he added, helps the R&D
our income in those days,” Bruce added. “If
department in its quest to create new products, as
everything fell apart we figured we could all live
well as improve on the original.
in our neighbor’s basement.”
“The We-Vibe is the hero SKU,” he said. “We
In hindsight, it might not have been the most
definitely pay attention to that.”
prudent decision, but the couple today agree the
trip was what gave them the courage to follow
their dreams.
“We phoned some of the bigger players in 2006 for their ideas on how to go
about breaking in to the industry. At least a half a
THE COUPLE BEHIND THE COUPLES VIBE Bruce and Melody Murison
at the Altitude Intimates Show, where they marked We-Vibe’s 10th anniversary.
dozen or so took the time
Years of hits and misses, trials and tribulations finally led
to talk with us and give us
to the original We-Vibe.
their view on the industry,
“But it’s one thing to have a product,” Bruce said. “It’s
another to get it out there.”
where it was headed and
At the time Standard Innovation entered the pleasure
what we needed to do.”
products industry, small companies were a rarity, and small
companies with only one product were even rarer. Add to
—Bruce Murison
that the fact distributors were not in the habit of working
with unknown manufacturers or taking many chances
on products that had never been seen before. Despite
encountering those serious setbacks right out of the gate,
the Murisons pressed on.
“We learned a lot about the distribution world and the
retail world, as much and as early as we could,” Bruce said.
“We phoned some of the bigger players in 2006 for their
ideas on how to go about breaking in to the industry. At
least a half a dozen or so took the time to talk with us and
give us their view on the industry, where it was headed and
PLEASURE PRODUCT NEWS
what we needed to do. I think we were perceived as honest
and non-threatening, and that helped us out a lot.”
From visiting retailers to explain the concept of the
We-Vibe, to talking with distributors about carrying the
product, to giving out samples to trade publications such
as AVN for reviews, the Murisons hustled. They were ever
aware of their financial status—at one point just after the
launch the couple figured they needed to sell 10,000 units
by March 2008 or they would be bankrupt. But the hard
work paid off when We-Vibe, after several years, became an
“overnight success”: the company sold 20,000 units in the
first three months of 2008.
“We had blind faith. We
didn’t spend a lot of time thinking, ‘What if it doesn’t
work out?’ Bruce is the risk
taker, and I am the balance,
but we never really had a
contingency plan.”
—Melody Murison
As it turns out, that dream was to create a
vibrator. But it wasn’t just any vibrator they
wanted to create; they wanted something new
and fresh … something that no one had ever
seen before. It was then that the We-Vibe was
born, years before there would ever be a finished
product. The pair spent time visiting adult shops
in the area of their Ottawa home, and Bruce
even started asking women what they wanted in
a vibrator before landing on the idea of creating
something couples could use together.
It seems laughable now, but at the time
there was no device that could be worn during
lovemaking, so there was nothing to improve
upon or re-invent. The small C-shaped vibrator,
a first-of-its-kind creation, was developed after
years of refinement. It took years of creating
prototype after prototype, developing the right
motors (the We-Vibe boasts two motors, one in
each stem) and finding the right shape that would
be comfortable for as many people as possible.
52 | AVN.com | 6.18
The original We-Vibe has seen four incarnations of
the original, as well as spin-offs in the Sync, Match
and Unite. Joining those products are the Pivot and
Verge, love rings that marked the manufacturer’s
foray into products for men, as well as the Nova,
Rave, Jive and others. These days, there are also kits
that package together the most popular and best-
selling items together, and there’s an Anniversary
Collection that features the We-Vibe Sync and the
Tango by We-Vibe together in a travel case.
But more products doesn’t always mean things are
easier, Melody pointed out.
“It still takes time to create a new product,
especially when you want to keep the quality at
the same level,” she said. “We both come from a
manufacturing background, so quality is one of the
most important qualities we want in our products
and their reputation. Our first product took years to
develop, and we still take our time. It was four years
before we released our second product. We want
every product to increase the strength of our brand,
which we believe we have done through the years.”
Bruce noted that continual innovation is a lot of
work for any company, adding it’s not always been
easy to create new products at the rate the pleasure
products industry typically works, meaning one or
two new items every six months to a year.
(Continued on page 60)