🔗 Share this article

First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”