🔗 Share this article

Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

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

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with numerous influencers to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to 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 over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Stateside, 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 broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”