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Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of content from users have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, yet they are vast.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up 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 social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. 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.”