🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Spotting its digital renaissance, strategists within the corporation boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors profound shifts happening in audience habits, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for 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

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers 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.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”