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Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a media convergence 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: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on influencer marketing is increasing four times faster than total media spending. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”