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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to 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 rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Stateside, 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, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”