🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? 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 broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”