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Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline may not seem like an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in conventional outlets.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers rubbing their skin with a derivative of drilling. Today, a spree of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “life hacks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been termed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, freshly instated, has suggested it is aiming to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

Selina Sykes, 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 spoiling the atmosphere” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, mentioned by individuals, this builds credibility and connection. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects seismic changes happening in audience habits, with Gen Z and millennial audiences allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

This change is evidenced by drops in traditional media advertising. Across Britain, ad revenues for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, linking up with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

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

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. In the US, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”