‘Social Listening’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

Originally found more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses allocating substantial funds to content creators and devoting less capital to promoting products in traditional media.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “everyday tips”.

It has been touted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Assertions that it diminished the burn from hot food on the lips were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could extend fragrance and rejuvenate purses. Proposals that it might whiten teeth or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on social media content.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of engaging audiences. She said engaging on social media “without killing the party” was crucial.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by other people, recommended by peers, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than television, magazines or radio.

The transition is visible in declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

This further signifies a merging of functions as corporations essentially turn into content studios, partnering with a multitude of digital creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the creators they engage with compared to commercial messages. That’s a consistent trend.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is expected to hit multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still major broadcast spectacles. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”