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

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“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.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. 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 other people, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The approach indicates profound shifts happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with numerous influencers to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

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

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”