‘Social Listening’: Unilever Seeks to Capitalise On Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the modest tin of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for online content feeds.

However, its rise as a viral TikTok topic has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on promoting products in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or prolonging the scent of perfume, along with a cure for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Capitalising on the Conversation

Noticing its viral resurgence, strategists within the corporation amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could extend fragrance and restore leather handbags. Suggestions it could brighten smiles or make eyelashes longer 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 helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning 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 platform-based material.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

The company's social media lead, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and discussing household products.

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, diverse communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Having your brand advocated by consumers, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. We are expanding this endorsement system.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.

The transition is visible in declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for leading TV channels have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

Additionally, it points to a media convergence as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by focusing on influencers over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is increasing four times faster than total media spending. In the US, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit tens of billions in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”