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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would whiten 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. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, 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

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for primary networks have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”