‘Digital Eavesdropping’: The Consumer Goods Giant Seeks to Capitalise On Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

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

A Revolutionary Change in Media

This plan mirrors dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

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 frame public debate.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”