🔗 Share this article

Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

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.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content 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 are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to 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 see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled 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 broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities 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.”