🔗 Share this article

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

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 turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? 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 send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”