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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”