Home party marketing originated in America in the early twentieth century. At that time, direct selling had become a very common part of American life. Door-to-door salesmen would travel throughout the country selling anything from sewing machines to cure-all medicines. In 1931, a man named Frank Stanley Beveridge who had dug enough gold by doing this selling started a company called Stanley Home Products. The company sold cleaning supplies to housewives.
Soon after Mr. Beveridge began his company, one of his salesmen began selling Stanley products at home parties. The salesman would organize a Stanley Party where he could give a cleaning demonstration (演示) to a room full of guests. It allowed him to sell Stanley products to many different customers at once, and it proved to be much more effective than standard door-to-door sales. The practice quickly became the main marketing strategy (策略) of Stanley Home Products.
Next, during the 1940s, many housewives started selling Stanley products to make extra money for their families. The job was perfect for housewives because Stanley sellers could work from home and set their own schedules. A single mother named Brownie Wise took full advantage of this opportunity and quickly became one of Stanley's top sellers.
Not long after that, she started her own direct selling business called Tupperware Patio Parties, which focused on selling a new type of plastic food container, Tupperware, using the Stanley home party system. Wise had realized Tupperware was perfect for the home party system. She could show her customers its patented (专利的) airtight seal, and she could also take away their anxiety about the safety of plastics -a fairly new invention at the time. Wise's company was very successful, and it was soon selling more Tupperware than department stores.
Today, many other companies have adopted home party marketing plans. So, next time you leave friend's party with a hundred dollars' worth of new Tupperware or jewelry, you can thank Frank Stanley Beveridge and Brownie Wise for your unintended purchase.
