🔗 Share this article

First identified over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, 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: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”