🔗 Share this article

Originally found more than 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.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

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

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

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

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as brands effectively act as media producers, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”