🔗 Share this article

First identified more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance 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 letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has led decision-makers to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a media convergence as brands effectively act as media producers, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are viewing scheduled television or reading physical magazines.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by investing in creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, industry figures said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”