Marketing mass home ownership and the creation of the modern working-class consumer in inter-war Britain

During the 1930s the British building industry and building society movement waged an aggressive campaign to sell the idea of home ownership to a new mass market. A number of sophisticated marketing strategies were employed to transform the popular image of a mortgage from 'a millstone round yo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Business history 2008-01, Vol.50 (1), p.4-25
Main Author:	Scott, Peter
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	building industry building societies Business history Company marketing practices Construction industry Consumption Dwellings Economic aspects Government regulation Home ownership Housing Housing market Interwar years Laws, regulations and rules Market strategy Marketing Mass markets Mortgages owner-occupation Proletariat Social classes Studies United Kingdom Working class Working class in television
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	During the 1930s the British building industry and building society movement waged an aggressive campaign to sell the idea of home ownership to a new mass market. A number of sophisticated marketing strategies were employed to transform the popular image of a mortgage from 'a millstone round your neck' to a key element of a new, suburbanized, aspirational lifestyle. Despite opportunistic behaviour by some developers, the spectacular success of this campaign both contributed to the fastest rate of growth in working-class owner-occupation during the twentieth century and had a substantial impact on consumption patterns for families that moved to the new estates.
ISSN:	0007-6791 1743-7938