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First identified over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

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

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”