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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective 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 broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like 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 personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”