🔗 Share this article

First identified more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, 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 positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to advertising goods in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were debunked.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, recommended by peers, 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 dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also permits simpler message refinement to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”