‘Online Monitoring’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence 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 putting fewer resources into marketing items in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who observed drillers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a fix for dirty sneakers or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. Users have even applied it to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.

Suggestions that it lessened the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, 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 crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and discussing household products.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, talked about by other people, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors profound shifts happening in audience habits, with younger consumers spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, partnering with hundreds of content creators 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 social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”