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As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and devoting less capital to marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were validated. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media 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 dampening the fun” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just transmit messages … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in TV and print advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with numerous influencers 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 digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still events like the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”