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As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by drops in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. 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.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

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