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Originally found more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders 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 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“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 discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by consumers, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Across Britain, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still events like the Super Bowl. 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.”