‘Social Listening’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.

First identified more than 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the humble pot of Vaseline could hardly be considered an natural focus for digital platform algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has thrust it into the lead of an promotional upheaval, seeing big businesses investing heavily in content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist 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 documented the product’s widespread use in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or making fragrance last longer, along with a cure for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to combat the nuisance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and providing creators with the outcome data.

Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were confirmed. Similarly supported were ideas it could lengthen scent duration and revive leather bags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or extend lashes were disproven.

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Billboards and TV ads would once have formed the bulk of its promotional efforts. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to ramp up funding for content creators.

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

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, dating to when neighbors chatted over fences and talking about what they used.

“The trend is shifting from a mass communication approach, where we would just broadcast out … Now it’s many conversations, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The approach indicates profound shifts occurring in how media is consumed, with the youth demographic spending more time on social media platforms than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The shift is reflected in declines in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, advertising income for leading TV channels have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a blurring of media roles as corporations essentially turn into content studios, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and they are dedicating far more hours to social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are watching live TV or reading print.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the personalities they subscribe to more than they trust ads. It's an ongoing shift.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to test effectiveness.

The approach is growing. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is growing fourfold quicker than total media spending. Stateside, it has increased by over 100% since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Regardless of the massive shift, 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 events like the Super Bowl. The issue isn't broadcasters claiming: ‘Oh, we’re not relevant any more.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”