‘Digital Eavesdropping’: Unilever Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by declines in broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with numerous influencers to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

This strategy is expanding. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”