‘Social Listening’: The Consumer Goods Giant Looks to Exploit Vaseline’s Viral TikTok Trend.

Originally found over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for social media algorithms.

However, its rise as a popular subject on TikTok has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and reducing expenditure on advertising goods in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers 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 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 amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. So too were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and restore leather handbags. Proposals that it might bleach teeth or extend lashes were debunked.

The ‘Digital Ear’ Approach

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has persuaded leaders to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This observation of social channels to shape commercial tactics has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

A leading Unilever executive, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without spoiling the atmosphere” was crucial.

“What is the key to genuine brand integration? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and sharing usage tips.

“We are witnessing a departure from a mass communication approach, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, diverse communities. The evolution of platform algorithms means that these communities feel niche, but they’re not.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by consumers, recommended by peers, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The strategy reflects profound shifts happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

The shift is reflected in falling revenues for traditional media advertising. In the UK, ad revenues for major broadcasters have dropped substantially in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Rise of the Creator Economy

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating 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 they’re spending a lot more time on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Numerous corporations inform us people trust recommendations from the individuals they follow over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by focusing on influencers over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

Such methods are increasing. Marketing investment on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is expected to hit substantial figures in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, executives said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to drive countrywide discourse.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ It concerns who commands eyeballs … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”