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First identified over 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 viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? 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 one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets 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 people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”