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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

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 combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“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 talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, 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

This plan mirrors seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

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

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

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

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. 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.”