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Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

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 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”