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As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to 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 noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for primary networks have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power 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: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”