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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”