🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks 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. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

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

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”