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First identified more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, 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 engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was crucial.

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

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

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

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”