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As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”