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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard 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

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim 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 … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow 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 consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”