🔗 Share this article ‘Online Monitoring’: The Consumer Goods Giant Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough. As a product discovered over 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds. However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in legacy broadcasters. The Path from Petroleum to Platforms Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”. Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers. Leveraging the Buzz Spotting its digital renaissance, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data. Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven. A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’ Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to ramp up funding for content creators. This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content. Shifting to Modern Engagement A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial. “What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips. “We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large. “Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. 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 spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than traditional TV, print, or radio. The shift is reflected in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019. Influencer Marketing Expansion Additionally, it points to a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods. A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets 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 audiences believe endorsements from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.” He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works. This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025. The Enduring Power of Broadcast Even with this transformation, experts said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to shape the national conversation. The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”