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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, 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 spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “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, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform 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 targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts 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.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”