🔗 Share this article

First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in 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 noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

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

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in drops in traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”