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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode 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, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in 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

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention 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 personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, 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 TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”