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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

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

This change is evidenced by drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, ad revenues for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements 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 allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”