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Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate 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 investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

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 rejuvenate purses. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, 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 spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

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

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”