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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal 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 merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

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

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media 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.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

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 the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”