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First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by a chemist, Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, 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, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences 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.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”