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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing 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 remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with younger consumers spending more time on digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for primary networks have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency 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 consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”