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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Suggestions that it lessened the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

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

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”