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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics 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 platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared 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 profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”