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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

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 sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

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 interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures 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. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”