🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would bleach teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode 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”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”