🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled 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 broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”