‘Social Listening’: The Consumer Goods Giant Seeks to Capitalise On Vaseline’s Viral TikTok Trend.

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an obvious target for social media algorithms.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a viral TikTok topic has positioned it at the vanguard of an marketing transformation, in which large companies are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into advertising goods in traditional media.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who noticed oil rig workers rubbing their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Now, a flood of amateur-created clips have recorded its extensive utilization in “practical tricks”.

Hailed as a solution for polishing footwear or making fragrance last longer, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Harnessing the Hype

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by asking their own scientists to test them and sharing the findings with influencers.

Assertions that it diminished the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. So too were ideas it could prolong perfume and revive leather bags. Suggestions it could whiten teeth or extend lashes were refuted.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. However, this online trend has helped convince executives to turbocharge spending on content creators.

This observation of social channels to inform business strategy has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, newly named, has suggested it is aiming to spend half of its colossal advertising budget on digital creator content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was merely adjusting to novel methods of connecting with customers. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was essential.

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

“There’s this moving away from a broadcast model, where we would just send out ads … Currently, it's countless discussions, many communities. Changes in digital feeds means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“If you can make sure your brand is shared by users, recommended by peers, this builds credibility and connection. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Fundamental Consumption Turn

The strategy reflects dramatic transformations taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers spending more time on digital networks than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, commercial funding for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, collaborating with numerous influencers to enhance their items.

Leon Harlow said: “Obviously there’s a flow of audiences from conventional channels and their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us audiences believe endorsements 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 big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on influencer marketing is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has over doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Despite the huge changes, industry figures said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to frame public debate.

The executive noted: “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 concerns who commands eyeballs … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”