🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in 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 a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, ad revenues for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“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 targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts 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.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”