‘Social Listening’: The Consumer Goods Giant Seeks to Capitalise On Vaseline’s Social Media Breakthrough.
As a product discovered more than 150 years ago on a Pennsylvania oilfield, the simple jar of Vaseline might not appear as an clear candidate for social media algorithms.
However, its rise as a TikTok talking point has positioned it at the vanguard of an promotional upheaval, in which large companies are allocating substantial funds to content creators and putting fewer resources into promoting products in legacy broadcasters.
A Journey from Drilling to Digital
Originally produced in the 1870s by scientist Robert Cheeseborough, who saw laborers using on their skin with a derivative of drilling. Currently, a wave of amateur-created clips have documented the product’s widespread use in “everyday tips”.
Promoted as a remedy for cleaning shoes or prolonging the scent of perfume, as well as a fix for noisy doorways. It has even been deployed to stop the scourge of crisp flavouring sticking to fingers.
Leveraging the Buzz
Detecting the product’s new life online, executives at the multinational amplified the hacks by having their research teams evaluate the claims and letting the content creators in on the results.
Claims that Vaseline reduced the sting of chili on the mouth were given the thumbs up. Similarly supported were ideas it could prolong perfume and restore leather handbags. Claims that it would brighten smiles or lengthen eyelashes were disproven.
A Plan Built on ‘Social Listening’
Print ads and broadcast spots would once have dominated Unilever’s advertising drive. But the Vaseline phenomenon has led decision-makers to ramp up funding for content creators.
This monitoring of online platforms to guide corporate planning has been termed “social listening”. Fernando Fernández, recently appointed, has stated the intention is to spend 50% of its massive marketing spend on social media content.
Shifting to Modern Engagement
Selina Sykes, who is heading the digital initiative, said the company was just evolving with contemporary approaches of engaging audiences. She said interacting online “without killing the party” was crucial.
“How can companies join discussions credibly? This remains our core objective as brands, back to when people were hanging out their laundry and sharing usage tips.
“We are witnessing a departure from a one-to-many model, where we would just transmit messages … Currently, it's countless discussions, various groups. The shift of the algorithms means that these audiences appear specific, but they’re not.
“Having your brand advocated by users, talked about by other people, that fosters reliability and pertinence. Influencers are vital for this. We are expanding this endorsement system.”
A Seismic Media Shift
The strategy reflects seismic changes taking place in media consumption, with the youth demographic spending more time on apps like TikTok and Instagram than legacy broadcast and print media.
The transition is visible in falling revenues for TV and print advertising. In the UK, advertising income for leading TV channels have declined by over six hundred million pounds in real terms since 2019.
The Creator Economy Boom
It also reflects a merging of functions as brands effectively act as media producers, 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 their time is increasingly on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube than they are consuming linear broadcasts or printed matter.
“A lot of brands are telling us people trust recommendations from the personalities they subscribe to over traditional advertisements. This is a persistent pattern.”
He said brands could also save money by targeting content creators over big traditional media campaigns, which also enables easier content adjustment to gauge performance.
The approach is growing. Advertising spending on the creator economy is growing fourfold quicker than the media industry overall. Stateside, it has more than doubled since 2021 and is forecast to attain substantial figures in 2025.
TV's Lasting Role
Despite the huge changes, executives said they believed broadcast ads retained significant importance to play, as broadcasters retained the power to drive countrywide discourse.
She added: “A top-tier ROI marketing event is still the Super Bowl. It's not a matter of networks declaring: ‘Our relevance has faded.’ The focus is on who seizes focus … I believe there is absolutely a role for them.”
