🔗 Share this article

As a product discovered over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the modest tin of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into marketing items in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Hailed as a fix for dirty sneakers or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for squeaky doors. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Harnessing the Hype

Spotting its digital renaissance, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could bleach teeth or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to inform business strategy has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on platform-based material.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by declines in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, advertising income for primary networks have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

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

“Numerous corporations inform us audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with more than they trust ads. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”