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As a product discovered over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were given the thumbs up. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or lengthen eyelashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

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

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Creators are critical to that. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

This plan mirrors seismic changes occurring in how media is consumed, with younger consumers allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than total media spending. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”