‘Online Monitoring’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

Originally found more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

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

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

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

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were validated. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “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.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by other people, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than television, magazines or radio.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for leading TV channels 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, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to enhance their items.

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and they are dedicating far more hours to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by investing in creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to gauge performance.

The approach is growing. Promotional expenditure on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

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

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”