‘Social Listening’: Unilever Aims to Harness Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

As a product discovered more than 150 years ago in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, the humble pot of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a popular subject on TikTok has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in conventional outlets.

A Journey from Drilling to Digital

First created commercially in the 1870s by chemist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers applying to their skin with a byproduct of the drilling process. Currently, a wave of user-generated videos have recorded its extensive utilization in “everyday tips”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for creaky hinges. Its use has even extended to prevent the annoyance of snack dust adhering to hands.

Leveraging the Buzz

Noticing its viral resurgence, marketers at Unilever enhanced the tricks by asking their own scientists to test them and letting the content creators in on the results.

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

A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’

Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. However, this online trend has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.

This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been dubbed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, freshly instated, has indicated the goal is to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on social media content.

Adapting to New Consumer Habits

A leading Unilever executive, who is leading the online push, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without killing the party” was essential.

“How do brands authentically become part of the conversation? This has perpetually been our aim 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 send out ads … Now it’s many conversations, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, yet they are vast.

“Having your brand advocated by users, mentioned by individuals, that is how you can build trust and relevance. Creators are critical to that. This word-of-mouth strategy is being amplified.”

A Seismic Media Shift

This plan mirrors seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with younger consumers devoting greater hours to social media platforms than legacy broadcast and print media.

This change is evidenced by falling revenues for traditional media advertising. In the UK, advertising income for major broadcasters have fallen by more than £600m in real terms since 2019.

The Creator Economy Boom

It also reflects a media convergence as large companies almost become production houses themselves, linking up with hundreds of content creators to boost their products.

A commercial director at a major talent agency said: “Clearly, there is a migration of viewers out of certain traditional media outlets and they are dedicating far more hours to digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“A lot of brands are telling us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the individuals they follow compared to commercial messages. This is a persistent pattern.”

He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over large-scale legacy ad buys, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.

Such methods are increasing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is rising at quadruple the rate than the broader media sector. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

The Enduring Power of Broadcast

Regardless of the massive shift, executives said they believed television commercials still played a key part to play, as TV channels continued to possess the influence to shape the national conversation.

She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘We are no longer pertinent.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I think there’s 100% a place for them.”