# Demonstrators and Product Promoters

US SOC code 41-9011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/41-9011

Also called: Brand ambassador, Product demonstrator, Demo specialist, In-store demonstrator, Field promoter.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **64,520** US demonstrators and product promoters, with median pay of **$39,320** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **64,770**, in May 2024, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-patentmedicine/) of **12,000** from 1890, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for demonstrators and product promoters: Infomercials and home shopping, 1982 to 2005. The infomercial and home shopping channels created a specialized profession of on-air product demonstrators and show hosts whose skills combined sales persuasion with television performance.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (+0.2%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-9011&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **39.7%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **0.51** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.51. BLS counted **76,870** of these jobs in May 2013 and **64,520** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here.

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Demonstrators and Product Promoters employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1820
- Latest US employment: 64,520 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $39,320 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +0.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [21]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1890 | 12,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Legends of America [1] |
| 1906 | n/a | $600 (estimate) | Est., Connecticut History / CTHumanities [5] |
| 1954 | 20,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Smithsonian National Museum of American… [2] |
| 1995 | 65,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Club Demonstration Services (CDS) [3] |
| 2003 | 95,300 | $20,260 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 93,240 | $20,700 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 86,050 | $20,730 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 82,830 | $22,150 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 83,270 | $22,570 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 83,540 | $23,260 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 80,910 | $22,510 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 75,790 | $23,110 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 72,620 | $23,770 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 73,170 | $23,860 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 76,870 | $24,440 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 83,600 | $24,520 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 83,620 | $24,940 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 86,500 | $25,610 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 84,780 | $27,060 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 81,250 | $28,960 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 77,760 | $30,930 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 69,990 | $32,500 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 40,680 | $32,350 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 43,410 | $34,770 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 50,790 | $36,970 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 64,770 | $37,960 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 64,520 | $39,320 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (86)

### Employment series

1. [Legends of America — Patent Medicine & the Popular Medicine Show (history of itinerant product demonstrators and medicine show industry scale)](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-patentmedicine/), Legends of America
2. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History — "Parties for plastic: How women used Tupperware to participate in business" (Tupperware dealer network ~20,000 by 1954)](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/parties-plastic-how-women-used-tupperware-participate-business), Smithsonian National Museum of American History
3. [Club Demonstration Services (CDS) — About CDS: founded 1988, grew from 16 to 300+ Costco locations over the following decade](https://clubdemo.com/about-cds/), Club Demonstration Services
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

5. [Connecticut History / New England Historical Society -- "Hartford's Fuller Brush Company Goes Door-to-Door Across US" (Fuller Brush founding 1906, growth from $40,000 to $12 million in sales)](https://connecticuthistory.org/hartfords-fuller-brush-company-goes-door-to-door-across-us/), Connecticut History / CTHumanities
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

7. [Wikipedia -- Medicine show (history of itinerant medicine show demonstrators and pitchmen, 19th century United States)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_show), Wikipedia
8. [Legends of America -- Patent Medicine & the Popular Medicine Show (patent medicine industry $80M by 1900, pitchman demonstration methods)](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-patentmedicine/), Legends of America
9. [Connecticut History / CTHumanities -- "Hartford's Fuller Brush Company Goes Door-to-Door Across US" (company founding 1906, $40K to $12M growth, 3,600 salesmen by 1930)](https://connecticuthistory.org/hartfords-fuller-brush-company-goes-door-to-door-across-us/), Connecticut History / CTHumanities
10. [New England Historical Society -- "The Fuller Brush Man Gets His Foot in the Door" (door-to-door demonstration format and training methods)](https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-fuller-brush-man-gets-his-foot-in-the-door/), New England Historical Society
11. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History -- "Parties for plastic: How women used Tupperware to participate in business" (Tupperware party origins 1948, Brownie Wise, ~20,000 dealers by 1954)](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/parties-plastic-how-women-used-tupperware-participate-business), Smithsonian National Museum of American History
12. [Smithsonian Magazine -- "The Story of Brownie Wise, the Ingenious Marketer Behind the Tupperware Party" (Brownie Wise's VP role at Tupperware, home party mechanics)](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/story-brownie-wise-ingenious-marketer-behind-tupperware-party-180968658/), Smithsonian Magazine
13. [Infomercial.com -- "Decade of Direct: How the 1980s Revolutionized TV with the Dawn of Infomercials" (HSN 1982, QVC 1986, FCC 1987 deregulation)](https://infomercial.com/drtv-blog/decade-of-direct-how-the-1980s-revolutionized-tv-with-the-dawn-of-infomercials/), Infomercial.com
14. [Newsweek -- "Ron Popeil Hawked the Veg-o-Matic and Made the World Safe for Late Night TV Pitchmen" (Popeil early TV infomercial history, Chop-O-Matic)](https://www.newsweek.com/ron-popeil-hawked-veg-o-matic-made-world-safe-late-night-tv-pitchmen-1620214), Newsweek
15. [Club Demonstration Services -- About CDS (founded 1988, Price Club origins, 550+ US locations, 12-country expansion, Advantage Solutions acquisition 2018)](https://clubdemo.com/about-cds/), Club Demonstration Services
16. [Sona's Marketing -- "Costco: The Perfect Sampling Case Study" (71% beer sales boost, 600% pizza increase, 300%+ wine lift from in-store demos)](https://www.sonasmarketing.com/blog/costco-the-perfect-sampling-case-study), Sona's Marketing
17. [Grocery Dive -- "Retailers want to bring back sampling, but with modifications" (COVID suspension, plexiglass return, contactless alternatives)](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/retailers-want-to-bring-back-sampling-but-with-modifications/580272/), Grocery Dive
18. [TODAY -- "Has COVID-19 put an end to grocery store samples for good? Retailers weigh in" (March 2020 suspension, Costco plexiglass demo return)](https://www.today.com/food/has-covid-19-put-end-grocery-store-samples-good-retailers-t203058), TODAY / NBC
19. [TROC Global -- "How AI Is Transforming Brand Ambassador Programs" (2025: AI tools for demo personalization, analytics, scheduling)](https://trocglobal.com/how-artificial-intelligence-in-retail-is-transforming-brand-ambassador-programs/), TROC Global
20. [Consensus -- AI-Powered Demo Automation Platform for Marketing (launched 2025, personalized interactive demos, buyer engagement analytics)](https://goconsensus.com/press-release/consensus-for-marketing), Consensus

### Forecasts and exposure studies

21. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 41-9011 Demonstrators and product promoters (2025: 70.4 thousand; 2035: 70.5 thousand; +0.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-9011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 41-9011.00, human-rated β 0.397)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI
23. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 41-9011 Demonstrators and Product Promoters: probability 0.51, rank 302 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

### Historical notes

24. [HISTORY -- "How Early World Fairs Put Industrial Revolution Progress on Display" (1893 Chicago World's Fair process exhibits)](https://www.history.com/articles/world-fairs-industrial-revolution), HISTORY
25. [American Institute of the History of Pharmacy -- "Patent Medicines and Drug Laws of the 20th Century" (Pure Food and Drug Act 1906)](https://aihp.omeka.net/exhibits/show/heritagemarker/patent-medicines), American Institute of the History of Pharmacy
26. [Smithsonian Magazine -- "The Story of Brownie Wise, the Ingenious Marketer Behind the Tupperware Party" (Wise hired as VP 1951, Tupperware retail withdrawal, 20,000 dealers by 1954)](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/story-brownie-wise-ingenious-marketer-behind-tupperware-party-180968658/), Smithsonian Magazine
27. [Club Demonstration Services -- About CDS (founded 1988, Price Club origins, 550+ US Costco locations, 12-country expansion)](https://clubdemo.com/about-cds/), Club Demonstration Services
28. [Grocery Dive -- "Retailers want to bring back sampling, but with modifications" (COVID suspension March 2020, partial return with plexiglass and pre-packaging)](https://www.grocerydive.com/news/retailers-want-to-bring-back-sampling-but-with-modifications/580272/), Grocery Dive

### Predecessors & successors

29. [Wikipedia -- Medicine show (itinerant pitchman origins, 19th century United States)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_show), Wikipedia
30. [PBS American Experience -- "The Business of Direct Selling" (Tupperware and door-to-door sales history)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tupperware-direct/), PBS American Experience
31. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History -- "Parties for plastic: How women used Tupperware to participate in business"](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/parties-plastic-how-women-used-tupperware-participate-business), Smithsonian National Museum of American History

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Demonstrators and Product Promoters (41-9011.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-9011.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — Demonstrators and Product Promoters (41-9011) (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Goldman Sachs — Generative AI Could Raise Global GDP by 7% (2023)](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/generative-ai-could-raise-global-gdp-by-7-percent), accessed 2026-06-05
- [TROC Global — How AI Is Transforming Brand Ambassador Programs (2025)](https://trocglobal.com/how-artificial-intelligence-in-retail-is-transforming-brand-ambassador-programs/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Argil AI — How AI Is Redefining Brand Ambassador Jobs (2025)](https://www.argil.ai/blog/brand-ambassador-jobs-in-2025-salary-guide-job-description-top-agencies), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Showpad — GenieAI Field Meeting AI for Sales Reps (2025)](https://www.showpad.com/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Seismic — Aura AI Meeting Summaries and Action Items (2025)](https://www.seismic.com/blog/how-ai-is-reshaping-sales-enablement/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Consensus — AI-Powered Demo Automation Platform for Marketing (Nov 2025)](https://goconsensus.com/press-release/consensus-for-marketing), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Supademo — AI Interactive Product Demos](https://supademo.com/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Influencer Marketing Hub — AI Marketing Tools (2025)](https://influencermarketinghub.com/ai-marketing-tools/), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.