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First identified more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, talked about by other people, 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 happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

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

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”