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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 clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance 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.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in drops in traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers 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.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”