‘Social Listening’: Unilever 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 could hardly be considered an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Nonetheless, its ascent as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and reducing expenditure on marketing items in traditional media.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

The petroleum jelly was first manufactured in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a remedy for cleaning shoes or extending perfume longevity, and also a remedy for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks 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. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Billboards and TV ads would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to inform business strategy has been dubbed “social listening”. Unilever's CEO, freshly instated, has stated the intention is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was simply adapting to new ways of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without dampening the fun” was essential.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, since the era of community gossip and talking about what they used.

“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Content makers are key. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates seismic changes happening in audience habits, with the youth demographic allocating more attention to social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for primary networks have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

Influencer Marketing Expansion

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with hundreds of content creators to promote their goods.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences away from some legacy media and their time is increasingly on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us audiences believe endorsements from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. It's an ongoing shift.”

He noted companies can reduce costs by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain tens of billions in 2025.

Traditional Media's Continued Place

Even with this transformation, experts said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to frame public debate.

Sykes said: “One of the highest return-on-investment media opportunities is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”