🔗 Share this article

Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced 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 chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with numerous influencers to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”