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First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“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 focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”