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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“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 discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away 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, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, executives 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. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”