‘Social Listening’: Unilever Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.

Originally found over 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an marketing transformation, seeing big businesses spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in conventional outlets.

From Oil Rigs to Online Hacks

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of user-generated videos have documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

It has been touted as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. 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, marketers at Unilever boosted the tips 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 restore leather handbags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. Yet this viral episode has persuaded leaders to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to guide corporate planning has been labeled “social listening”. The company's chief executive, recently appointed, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on digital creator content.

Evolving With Audience Behavior

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said engaging on social media “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This has perpetually been our aim as brands, since the era of community gossip and sharing usage tips.

“The trend is shifting from a one-to-many model, where we would just broadcast out … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these groups seem specialized, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by other people, talked about by other people, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects profound shifts taking place in media consumption, with Gen Z and millennial audiences devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for broadcast and newspaper ads. Within the United Kingdom, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in inflation-adjusted terms since 2019.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

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

An industry expert from a leading agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences out of certain traditional media outlets and their time is increasingly on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

This strategy is expanding. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Across the United States, it has over doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach substantial figures in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”