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As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. 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 prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m 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, linking up with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

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

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, 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.

The executive noted: “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 concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”