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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. 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, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker 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

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”