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Originally found over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

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

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”