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As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by tasking their in-house experts with verification 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 extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with numerous influencers to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”