‘Social Listening’: Unilever Seeks to Capitalise On Vaseline’s TikTok Moment.

First identified over 150 years ago within a Pennsylvania drilling site, the simple jar of Vaseline may not seem like an obvious target for online content feeds.

Yet the brand’s emergence as a TikTok talking point has placed it at the forefront of an advertising revolution, where major corporations are spending big on content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.

The Path from Petroleum to Platforms

Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a residue from oil extraction. Today, a spree of content from users have chronicled its broad application in “practical tricks”.

Promoted as a solution for polishing footwear or extending perfume longevity, as well as a fix for squeaky doors. Users have even applied it to combat the nuisance of chip seasoning clinging to fingers.

Leveraging the Buzz

Detecting the product’s new life online, marketers at Unilever amplified the hacks by tasking their in-house experts with verification and letting the content creators in on the results.

Suggestions that it lessened the sensation of spicy food on lips were confirmed. This was also the case for ideas it could extend fragrance and revive leather bags. Claims that it would whiten teeth or make eyelashes longer were disproven.

The ‘Social Listening’ Strategy

Outdoor advertising and television commercials would once have been the cornerstone of its marketing push. But the Vaseline phenomenon has helped convince executives to dramatically increase investment in content creators.

This tracking of digital spaces to shape commercial tactics has been labeled “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has suggested it is aiming to spend a full fifty percent of its huge ad budget on platform-based material.

Shifting to Modern Engagement

The company's social media lead, who is spearheading the social media effort, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of reaching consumers. She said participating on platforms “without dampening the fun” was paramount.

“How can companies join discussions credibly? That’s always what we’ve been trying to do as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and discussing household products.

“The trend is shifting from a broadcast model, where we would just transmit messages … Today, it's numerous dialogues, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these communities feel niche, however, they are large.

“Ensuring your product is discussed by users, mentioned by individuals, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We’re really scaling this advocacy model.”

A Seismic Media Shift

The approach indicates seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic devoting greater hours to digital networks than traditional TV, print, or radio.

The transition is visible in drops in traditional media advertising. Within the United Kingdom, ad revenues for major broadcasters have declined by over six hundred million pounds in actual value since the end of the last decade.

The Creator Economy Boom

Additionally, it points to a blurring of media roles as large companies almost become production houses themselves, collaborating with a multitude of digital creators to promote their goods.

Leon Harlow said: “Naturally, an exodus of attention out of certain traditional media outlets and they’re spending a lot more time on digital video and image apps than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.

“Many companies report to us consumers have more faith in suggestions from the creators they engage with over traditional advertisements. That’s a consistent trend.”

He added firms may also cut expenditures by targeting content creators over expensive broadcast campaigns, which also allows them to tweak their content more easily to see what works.

This strategy is expanding. Marketing investment on digital creator partnerships is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Across the United States, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is projected to reach multi-billion dollar sums in 2025.

TV's Lasting Role

Even with this transformation, industry figures said they believed TV advertising still had a prominent role to play, as networks still held the capability to drive countrywide discourse.

The executive noted: “Among the most effective advertising investments is still major broadcast spectacles. It’s not about those broadcasters saying: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ It’s about who’s capturing attention … There is undoubtedly a future for traditional media.”