‘Online Monitoring’: Unilever Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.
Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for digital platform algorithms.
Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in legacy broadcasters.
A Journey from Drilling to Digital
First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.
Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.
Capitalising on the Conversation
Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and providing creators with the outcome data.
Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were validated. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.
The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach
Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.
This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.
Shifting to Modern Engagement
The company's social media lead, who is leading the online push, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of reaching consumers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was paramount.
“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.
“There’s this moving away from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.
“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Influencers are vital for this. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”
A Fundamental Consumption Turn
The approach indicates dramatic transformations occurring in how media is consumed, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.
The shift is reflected in drops in broadcast and newspaper ads. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.
The Creator Economy Boom
This further signifies a merging of functions as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.
Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.
“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”
He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also permits simpler message refinement to see what works.
Such methods are increasing. Promotional expenditure on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.
The Enduring Power of Broadcast
Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.
The executive noted: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”