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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking 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.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, 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? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … 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 users, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in TV and print advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”