🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. 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.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

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

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”