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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates seismic changes happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts 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 events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”