‘Social Listening’: The Consumer Goods Giant Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.

First identified over 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.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have documented the product’s widespread use in “life hacks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, and also a remedy for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to prevent the annoyance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, strategists within the corporation enhanced the tricks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or extend lashes were disproven.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Billboards and TV ads would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. The company's chief executive, newly named, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said engaging on social media “without spoiling the atmosphere” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“There’s this moving away from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these groups seem specialized, but they’re not.

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

A Revolutionary Change in Media

The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for primary networks have dropped substantially in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

This further signifies a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with numerous influencers to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the broader media sector. In the US, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, experts said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to shape the national conversation.

She added: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”