Generations and Branded Content from and through the Internet and Social Media: Modern Communication Strategic Techniques and Practices for Brand Sustainability—The Greek Case Study of LACTA Chocolate

Abstract

A brand can get close to its audience by engaging and delivering integrated healthy and sustainable communication experiences from and through the Internet and social media. A de novo approach of branded content consumption in relation to generations and generational cohorts is highlighted through a literature review in the present article. The latest three adult generational cohorts (18 years old and older) (i.e., Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z) are outlined under the lenses of digital technological socio-cultural culture, the media environment, and the audiovisual industry. In this framework, an audiovisual-supported case study of the Greek chocolate “LACTA” which is a characteristic and typical paradigm of re-approaching the brand, (a) through branded content from and through the Internet and social media; as well as (b) through generations is presented. The ultimate research purpose of this article is to spotlight the role of communication in sustainable development to reach a better and more sustainable future through multi-generational marketing. Therefore, historical elements through a rich bibliographic literature as a source of further study regarding the Internet, social media, and the last three generational cohorts with adults are provided. Moreover, since not all generational cohorts are alike, it also grants useful insights for the prospective role of public relations and advertising as well as modern marketing communication through the aforementioned brand case study for healthy, robust and sustainable communication.

1. Introduction

The meta-transitional technological world we live in is constantly evolving and becoming fully digital. The digital-era impact is considered one of the most critical sustainability issues regarding the future of media studies and communication science’s triptych—public relations, advertising, and marketing communication—and by extension the brand and branded content. Nowadays, branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is being converted to audiovisual branded content, and this appears to be largely due to contemporary human habits, in addition to the current digital era. Admittedly, it is well documented that humans are classified into their respective generation or generational cohort according to the year they were born, a fact that also affects their exposure to media, and by extension, their consumption of audiovisual content [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In recent years, audiovisual content interrelationships, and more explicitly the audiovisual branded content with generations and generational cohorts, has been researched autonomously and through multiple different approaches in various and diverse fields; however, although this research fills a huge gap in the literature, it seems that the subject has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Undoubtedly, as it has been documented in the literature, tomorrow’s brand/communication managers and designers, and public relations/advertising/marketing professionals should definitely be aware of the differences encountered mainly in media and technology use, as well as in the preferences of their consumers [7,8,9,10]. Similarly, and more concretely the habits and behaviors of at least the adults (18 years old and older) of the three later generations (i.e., Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z; XYZ Generations—something that will be mentioned below) should be considered, because not all generational cohorts present the same characteristics, nor should they be treated in the same way [4,6,11,12]—so-called marketing to the generations (also known as multi-generational marketing) [11,12,13].

Brand is defined as an intangible concept of marketing or even business that helps humans identify a company, product, or person (usually famous or celebrity) or other, which is also an identity brand that approaches the identity value of a cultural icon [14]. On the other hand, branded content is usually content of interest produced by an advertiser or content whose creation was funded by an advertiser on behalf of, e.g., a company in order to strengthen the brand by captivating an audience and/or for brand sustainability as a brand communication tool [15,16,17]. In contemporary times, the younger generations are mainly responsible for the emergence of micro-celebrities as well as for the creation of most of the new global brands, technology products and modern trends that exist and are used today [4,18,19,20,21]. The most discussed official generational cohorts that have meta-evolved the brand and the branded content into audiovisual branded content are mainly the three more recent generations that are currently made up of adults (18 years old and older) [4,6]. More concretely, they are the Generation X (GenXer from here on) (humans born from 1965 to 1979), the Generation Y (GenYer from here on) (humans born from 1980 to 1994) as well as the Generation Z (GenZer from here on) (humans born from 1995 to 2010) [4,6].

In recent years, brands have been affected by considerable advances in technology which have positioned them in an ever-changing field, resulting in them tailoring their image and fame/reputation accordingly, to achieve their corporate goals and sustainability [7,9]. This need arose primarily with the advent of the Internet, and by extension with the rise of social media. Admittedly, the Internet is the main impact factor due to modern communication tools such as Internet applications and services, the so-called Internet technologies. Notably, Internet technologies are considered the (a) electronic mail (email/s from here on); (b) web browsers (e.g., Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, etc.); (c) web search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft Bing, etc.); (d) file hosting services (e.g., Dropbox, Mega, Google Drive, 4shared, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.); (e) business communication platforms (e.g., Zoom Video Communications; Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Webex by Cisco; WebEx, etc.); and so on [22] (pp. 76–78). To summarize, Internet technologies from and through the Internet allow humans to have and to express their own opinion freely or even in combination with other sources or communication forms, to develop relationships, as well as to cooperate, interplay and interact with each other, thereby resulting in everyone becoming an active member of a(n online) community [6,7,9,22]. Additionally, Internet technologies are the backbone of information and data (i.e., big data, metadata, social media data, etc.) in technologies-enhanced research and learning, online marketplace, digital media, and the mainstream media of absolute distance communication nowadays [6,9,22]. Due to the aforementioned, the free expression of opinion is now deployed through the Internet, resulting in the formation of new, more modern forms of communication and new cultures, thus creating a new society [9] (p. 196).

The new society is made up of virtual communities which are the epitome of an ongoing test of social solidarity change [7,9]. In addition, through these communities, everyone can create her/his virtual profile and develop a (social) network of communication where s/he can communicate, chat, and interact freely with other online users through a plethora of social media platforms and applications (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and so on, which will be discussed next in Section 2.1) [7,9]. Most social media ask prospective online users to register using their basic personal information, e.g., name and email address/account or even a local mobile phone number before they start using their platform or application [7,9]. In the last decade, significant activity through these social media has been conducted, where humans from all over the world have had the opportunity to share news, photos, and information on their personal lives and chat with each other with no restrictions [7,9,22]. Furthermore, they have slowly begun to replace traditional sources of information with social media [9,23,24]. Nowadays, social media are considered among the most important consumer networks that influence consumer behavior [25,26]. Undoubtedly this should not leave companies and businesses uninvolved. To achieve sustainability, they have to re-shape their brand and branded content into audiovisual branded content with the valuable help of the audiovisual industry and media environments. The re-shape is usually performed utilizing highly inventive techniques, strategic practices and modern methods from e-public relations, digital marketing, or even mobile marketing. These techniques, practices and methods constitute a contemporary trend of public relations, advertising, and marketing communication with the consumers in order to build and to develop trust [9,27,28,29,30,31]. Likewise, most of them are original and perfectly tailored to the philosophy of the modern digital era [28,32].

In summary, this article attempts to outline the relationship of the aforementioned generational cohorts through technological and a digital socio-cultural perspective as well as in relation to the mass/traditional media and modern or even digital-media-environment landscape. Specifically, the article follows a review approach and includes historical information that can be used for further study. This approach is considered essential to clarify the landscape and framework within which this article falls, while it will assist both potential readers and professionals. Additionally, it aims to address the gap in literature due to the aforesaid circumstances. To achieve this, qualitative methods based on online library technology-enhanced research has been used by gathering literature and information sources (such as, for example, research data, literature data, information, materials, elements, etc.) [33] based on the predetermined stages [34] (something to be discussed below in Section 3). This research method constitutes the modern form of research methods that emerged from the redistribution, re-evaluation, and reintegration of traditional research methods [33] (pp. 1–2).

In recapitulating and prior to concluding the introductory section, in this article, the brand case study of the Greek chocolate “LACTA” is also presented. This Greek case study is a characteristic and typical paradigm of re-approaching the brand through branded content from and through the Internet and social media utilizing highly inventive techniques, strategic practices and modern methods derived from advertising, public relations, digital marketing, and mobile marketing. Furthermore, the relationship between this brand and the generational cohorts is emphasized as well as the transition from the traditional advertising methods, techniques, and practices to the contemporary ones, making this case study also a practical example on how to create and design branded entertainment campaigns with suitable communication strategies based on differences between genealogical cohorts. Overall, the ultimate research purpose (RP) of the article is to spotlight the perspective of the role of communication in sustainable development for a better and more sustainable future. More specifically, the aim is to assist budding and old advertisers, communicators, brand/product managers, media and advertising account executives/managers/directors, as well as public relations/marketing/advertising associations worldwide regarding the field under investigation.

In closing, it should be noted that the present article is also part of a broader ongoing cross-cultural research project, regarding the employment of audiovisual media communications (i.e., audiovisual media technologies and audiovisual content) in adult education and higher education in Greece and Cyprus in the light of media studies. More precisely, the research project began in 2016 and explores the multidisciplinary field that incorporates media, audiovisual content, and education (henceforth, MACE) among generational cohorts with adult members, both as educators and as adult learners, in relation to information and communications technologies (henceforth, ICTs). Finally, the rest of the article is organized into four additional sections as follows: (a) Section 2 presents the theoretical groundwork through literature review and/or related work; (b) Section 3 provides the framework of the research methodological approach that was applied in this study; (c) Section 4 demonstrates the research findings through the brand case study of Greek chocolate “LACTA” in order to answer the stated RP; and (d) Section 5 outlines a summary and final conclusion.

2. Theoretical Groundwork through a Literature Review and/or Related Work

In this section the theoretical groundwork through literature review and/or related work is provided in two sub-sections. In the primary sub-section, an attempt is made to briefly describe the timeframe background from the rise of the Internet to social media, as well as the interconnected relationships among them (Section 2.1). On the other hand, the secondary sub-section briefly outlines the international archetypal genealogical characteristics, habits, and behaviors of adult members of today’s three younger generational cohorts (2022/23) (i.e., GenXer, GenYer and GenZer) under the prism of digital technological socio-cultural culture, media environment and the audiovisual industry (Section 2.2). Finally, it should be mentioned that this theoretical groundwork also belongs in the literature framework of the stated cross-cultural research project MACE and here, in this section of the article, a de novo revised summary and version of its literature findings from the systematic search which was implemented is presented.

2.1. Brief Background: From the Birth of the Internet to the Dominance of Social Media

The digital era in which we live began officially with the advent of the Internet. Historically, the Internet made its appearance in the United States of America (USA) in the decade of 1950 as an underlying digital genetic material structure, consisting of a common communication code (i.e., Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol; TCP/IP) through a vast network of computer laboratories around the world [9] (pp. 195–196). Nowadays, humans refer mainly to the visible and not to the invisible part of the Internet, and more specifically to the World Wide Web (official name WorldWideWeb, commonly referred to as WWW or called just web) which was created by Tim Berners-Lee (father of the WWW) and a team of scientists (i.e., World Wide Web Consortium; W3C) in 1990, developing a hypertext technology through a web browser [4,9,22].

On the threshold of the 2000 millennium, the WWW was named Web 1.0 when Darcy DiNucci first mentioned the term Web 2.0 in an article [35], trying to describe the new format of the Internet and the emergence of the then-new services through technological and electronic devices using the Internet (i.e., today’s Internet technologies) [4,6,9,33]. The advent of this new format also marks the change from 3W (i.e., world, wide and web) to 3C (i.e., collaboration, contribution, and community), which created Generation C (GenCer) [4,6,9]. This generation does not belong to the official generational cohorts, but it is a term used primarily in the literature when one wants to refer mainly to active online users [4] (p. 594) who nowadays produce and distribute multimedia materials all over the world from and through the Internet [4,9,36,37,38]. Additionally, it is a term that describes our movement in 3C [4] (p. 594). Summing up, active online users now produce and distribute information and data and are not just readers and consumers of content (e.g., branded content) and digital copy, thus developing collaboration and exchange (information and knowledge) among them [9] (p. 196).

The term Web 2.0 became widely used from 2004 onwards, when Tim O’Reilly referred to and re-approached the term during the O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference [6] (p. 5). Later on in 2007, the term Web 2.0 was redefined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [4,6,9], which was based on the model of (online) content production and contribution from the users themselves (i.e., user-generated content; UGC) [39]. At this point it should be mentioned that from 2001 onwards, talk about the “Web-as-participation-platform” (or semantic web) as the meta-evolution of the original WWW (as the second version) had already started [6,9,22]. The term semantic web had conceptual roots in 1960, while nowadays it is known as Web 3.0 [6,22]. Finally, at this present day, the WWW is officially characterized as Web 2.5 [6,22].

The Internet is nowadays a global communication system that has radically changed our habits, activities, and the way we live our daily lives, such as, for example, the way we work, the way we communicate and the way we entertain ourselves as well as our way of consuming audiovisual content of any kind (e.g., television content, branded content, etc.) [9,37,40]. Furthermore, the Internet is a global planetary network that is independent of the environment we live in, a parallel virtual digital world bridged by what we all today call social media. Historically, GeoCities in 1994 was the first pioneering informal social media while SixDegrees was the first official social media in 1997—before the term “social” was even coined [4,9]. It was also followed by the first wiki in 1995 as the first web application, and weblogs/blogs in 1998 as the first full-format multimedia websites [4,9]. Nowadays, social media are primarily considered (a) online social networks (OSNs), social networking sites (SNSs), and social media platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.); (b) audiovisual platforms (e.g., YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo, Netflix, Twitch, etc.) and audiovisual platforms with interactivity (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, etc.) as content-hosting or even video-sharing websites which can be incorporated into the software as a service (SaaS) model (e.g., a video posted on YouTube to transport you to the Netflix); (c) sound platforms (e.g., Mixcloud, SoundCloud, Spotify, etc.) as music or even other various audio media content streaming and media services; (d) image/picture/photograph or even video sharing social networking services (e.g., Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, TikTok, etc.); (e) interactive websites or even weblogs/blogs or microblogs (e.g., interactive documentary; i-doc, etc.); (f) hypermedia authoring or storytelling platforms; as well as (g) online communication applications and services (e.g., multimedia messaging apps or social messaging/chat such as Skype, Viber, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc.) [4,6,9,22,36,37,38,41].

In conclusion, social media encompass user-friendly interfaces through usability heuristics (e.g., user control, consistency, error prevention, etc.) and interaction design (e.g., visibility, constraints, mapping, etc.), while they are characterized by a plethora of requirements and demands, such as, for example, functional, data and non-functional requirements [4] (p. 593). These requirements and demands focus mainly on communication, community-based input and interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation or even exchange of information and data, ideas, business interests and other forms of expression and communication from and through virtual communities and networks [4,7,9,36]. On the other hand, most social media are mainly based on the dynamic web platform Web 2.0 utilizing open or even free software and applications (such as, for example, social software) [9] (p. 197). The production and contribution of genuine or even modified online content from and through them is UGC [9] (p. 197). Moreover, users as well as prospective users (i.e., social media users) can easily produce and contribute their own online audiovisual content as potential producers [9,36]. Finally, social media enable social media users to interact through them without specialized knowledge on computers or even networks for greater two-way interaction, conversation, and discussion [7,9,36,42].

2.2. Archetype of International XYZ Generations: Socio-Cultural Culture of the Generational Cohorts in Relation to Media-Technological Environments—A Brief Literature Review

Undoubtedly, in recent decades, the rearrangements of humans into different generational cohorts are a fact because they seem to have been a matter of debate in various fields—more specifically, the generational analysis and/or the genealogical cohort one may belong to [4,6]. Admittedly, analyzing each respective generation as well as comparing it to the next or even the previous one is of great interest, especially for the business world, the media industry and environment, as well as the public due to digital technological development and Internet technologies (i.e., the ICTs) [4,6,11,12,43].

The potential that the tremendous meta-evolution of Internet technologies has already offered in our lives is countless, such as the distribution and production of multiple-multimodal material worldwide as well as the widespread expansion of consumption of audiovisual content from and through the Internet [4,9,36,37,38]. On the one hand, this phenomenon seems to occur mostly among adult members of the generational cohorts with the youngest adults today (2022/23) (i.e., GenYer and GenZer) as well as those born within at least the last five decades (i.e., GenXer) [4,6,37]. These individuals seem to tend to use the Internet and ICTs more and more in every aspect of their daily lives with multiple-multimodal media production, processing, and management tasks [4,6,37].

In accordance with these cause-and-effect consequence statements and the corresponding relevant literature, which states that the members of each generational cohort appear to be influenced by the motivations and uses of the media [1,2,3,4,5,6], the following three sub-sections briefly summarize the international archetypal genealogical characteristics, habits, and behaviors of the adult members of today’s three younger generational cohorts (2022/23) as socio-cultural culture (i.e., GenXer in Section 2.2.1, GenYer in Section 2.2.2 and GenZer in Section 2.2.3).

2.2.1. GenXer

GenXer members, on the one hand, grew up in the age of contemporary technology, while on the other hand they read mainly books, listened to the radio fanatically, played video games in amusement parlors and/or their homes, and danced disco music in clubs [4,6,44,45]. Also, as teenagers, they first came to know traditional television, and then had access to personal computers at home and/or in schools or universities [4,6,45]. Additionally, they grew up in the hipsterism subculture period due to which they began to explore, to perceive and to grapple with their sexual orientation or even gender identity to a large extent [45,46]—something that most GenXer members seem to have forgotten or renounced since growing up. Furthermore, they encountered globalization (e.g., through the development of the airline industry), and were significantly influenced by and identified with American mass culture such as, for example, Hollywood blockbuster productions, newer musical genres (i.e., hip-hop, rap, and so on), as well as showing music videos (i.e., video clips) on television—this is the reason why this generational cohort is additionally referred to as the MTV Generation [6] (p. 6). Moreover, through their cultural influences they developed a proliferation in the various musical genres of the alternative rock movement with strong socio-racial identities such as, for example, punk, post-punk, and heavy metal, as well as the grunge and grindcore as later musical genres developed by them including adding pictures to rock songs [47,48]. Most members of this generational cohort believe in the value of the family, while their characteristics, lifestyles and attitudes are summarized in the triptych of balancing relationships (i.e., friendships, family relationships, etc.), good life and work [4,11,12].

Due to global conditions over time (e.g., the threat of nuclear war, the onset of an economic crisis, the specter of unemployment, the socio-economic conditions, etc.), multiculturalism, and thinking globally, this generational cohort is considered and labeled nontraditional and as the ‘fear generation’ and ‘latchkey generation’, while most of its members nowadays have adapted to the modern technological conditions (e.g., forced to use the mobile phone while they are now using a smart phone and social media such as, for example, OSNs, SNSs, social media platforms, etc.) [4,11,12,44,49,50,51,52]. Likewise, they are also highly educated although they are skeptical, pessimistic, frustrated with almost everything, highly question conventionality, and they are usually loyal to specific brands [12,49,53,54]. On the other hand, they seem to spend a lot of money, especially on housing, clothes, entertainment, and food [49]. Regarding the communication approach with GenXer members in the current technological conditions, it is not always easy to be achieved, because the communication means and methods of this generational cohort mainly include traditional forms of television and radio, word-of-mouth, social events, traditional correspondence, direct mail, telephone, and maybe even emails [11,12,55,56,57]. Finally, nowadays they seem to be responsible for the infrastructures that the next generations use, which hold a key role in the sustainability of any organization [11,12,49,53,54,58].

In conclusion, characteristic paradigms of the portrayal of GenXer members as the international archetype in the global market (including, of course, the educational market) for the creation and distribution of new and modern brands from and through the audiovisual industry around the world as phenomena of world pop culture are the foreign television series:

• ‘Saved by the Bell’ from Peacock (1989–2003) as a GenXer members group of high school friends which has been classified as educational and informational child programming (that is, educational television for children) due to the primarily focusing on serious and controversial social issues (such as, for example, driving under the influence of alcohol, drug use, homelessness, death, remarriage, environmental issues, women’s rights, and so on);
• ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ (usually referred to only by its short title, 90210) from FOX (1990–2000) as a group of friends living in a Beverly Hills upscale and star-studded community, as they transition from high school to college and into the adult world;
• ‘Friends’ from NBC (1994–2004) as a GenXer members group of six 20-year-old friends;
• ‘Sex and the City’ (often abbreviated as SATC) from HBO (1998–2004) as a group of four females—three in their mid-thirties (members of GenXer generational cohort) and one in her forties (member of the Baby Boomer Generation—humans born from 1946 to 1964);
• ‘Queer as Folk’ (American-Canadian version) from Showtime in USA and Showcase in Canada (2000–2005) is based on the British series of the same title (1999–2000) which follows the lives and loves of a GenXer members group of LGBT+ friends living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, which was characterized by international media as SATC’s homosexual version;
• ‘How I Met Your Mother’ (often abbreviated as HIMYM) from CBS (2005–2014) as a GenXer members group of five 30-year-old friends; and
• ‘And Just Like That…’ from HBO MAX (2021–) the legendary sequel and restart of SATC, which finally follows the current lives of only the three GenXer members of fifty-year-old female protagonists from the eponymous television series and their new friendships, and tackles more realistic and contemporary issues.

2.2.2. GenYer

GenYer is widely well-known as the Millennium Generation, and its members call themselves millennials. This term millennials was coined by authors Neil Howe and William Strauss [59] for the creation of the newer generational cohort whose members would grow up and live at the advent of the new millennium [4,6]. Additionally, psychologist Jean Twenge mentions this newer generational cohort as “Generation Me” in her 2006 book Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before [60]. It is also a fact that the members of this generational cohort are possessed by multiple identities (i.e., as digital nomads, digital natives, online active users, etc. [4,6]), habits, attitudes, and genealogical behaviors. Admittedly, because of all these factors, we owe the most important well-known international, national and export social-phenomena (such as, for example, contemporary online socialization, creation of internet phenomena, media socio-phenomena, revival phenomena, etc.) to them [4,6]. By far, this generational cohort appears to be the most innovative of generational cohorts—the most famous social media (such as Facebook and Instagram) were created by GenYer members, while they are seen as placing a high priority on knowing about the next Big Things [61].

The members of this generational cohort grew up in an era of serious and controversial social issues (e.g., divorce as a norm, AIDS, drug use, homelessness, gang violence, etc.) [11,12], continuous, rapid and immediate expansion of various media technological developments (such as, for example, cable television channels, satellite radio, etc.) and various socio-economic changes [6,62], “including virtually full employment opportunities for women, dual-income households as the standard, wide array of family types seen as normal, significant respect for ethnic and cultural diversity including a heightened social awareness, and computers in the home and schools” [11]. Also, they grew up listening to a lot of commercial music like GenXer music which ranged from Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys to Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Pink, and Eminem, as well as GenYer music such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, and Justin Timberlake to t.A.T.u., Evanescence, and One Direction. Additionally, they grew up using the Internet and a plethora of Internet technologies (such as, for example, email; web browsers, e.g., Internet Explorer; web search engines, e.g., Google—which is why sometimes this generational cohort is additionally referred to as the pre-Google Generation, etc.) from and through various modern technological electronic devices (such as, for example, laptops, BlackBerrys, personal digital assistants; PDAs, iPods, GPS devices, cell phones, mobile phones, smart phones, etc.) [6,11,63,64,65]—hence it is also called Net Generation, DotNet, Ne(x)t Generation, Nexters, First Globals, iPod Generation, and iYGeneration [66,67,68,69,70]. Similarly, during studies of most GenYer members, they came into direct contact for the first time with several online learning management systems (OLMS) (such as, for example, WebCT, Blackboard, Moodle, and Wiki or even blogs) from and through virtual learning environments (VLE) (e.g., instructional videos, video or audio lectures, podcasts, vodcast, etc.) in a teaching-learning procedure or even educational process as online student precursors [4,6]. On the other hand, GenYer members have also consumed traditional and online television content for many hours during the day until adulthood [4,6,71,72]—watching mostly American popular television series featuring the daily lives of GenXer television characters, which they quite often seem to use as an appropriate pattern of behavior [4,6].

On the one hand, due to all these above phenomena, nowadays, GenYer members also “seem to be turning more easily to new forms of television viewing from and through the Internet, especially during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic based on the results of descriptive quantitative statistical researches of (inter)national nonprofit and other organizations (e.g., OECD, Eurostat, etc.)” [6] (p. 6), resulting in being characterized as both open-minded media users and open-minded media audiences [6]. Likewise, GenYer members seem (a) to be less loyal to a brand in relation to the members of the previous generational cohorts; (b) to be equally flexible and more easily adapted to (i) various environmental and socio-economic changes (e.g., due to the global financial crisis several members of this generational cohort now cohabit with other peers as roommates or have returned to their paternal home after having lived on their own or even still live with their parents) or (ii) technological changes (e.g., from MP3 players and CD players to digital audio players, from simple mobile phones to smartphones, from traditional mass media to new or digital modern media, etc.), (iii) modern fashion trends and styles of consciousness (such as, for example, emo style); as well as (c) the manner in which they now communicate (e.g., using digital communication from and through the Internet and social media) [6,72,73,74,75,76]. Generally, GenYer members seem to have a general fascination with the latest cutting-edge technologies coming to the fore [61].

In recapitulating, and following all above-mentioned discussion, GenYer members are commonly considered as self-absorbed and self-reliant with a strong sense of independence and autonomy as well as open-minded, optimistic, goal-oriented, and highly motivated about their perceptions of success [11,12]. However, they want to have results and are not so worried about why [11,63], while they also generously embrace innovation and use emerging cutting-edge technologies [61]. Additionally, they seem to seek recognition and acceptance usually from other peers (e.g., Facebook’s new mothers’ phenomenon [77]), resulting in connecting, fitting in, and directing social networking with them from and through various social media (i.e., through OSNs, SNSs, and so on, and mainly through dating apps such as Tinder, Badoo, OkCupid, Grindr, Vespr, etc.) [4,6,11,12,78,79,80]. In the same context, while growing up (especially the younger members) they seem to tend to use specific social media such as, for example, (a) online communication applications and services (e.g., multimedia messaging apps/social messaging/social chat, such as, for example, Viber, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc.) as well as (b) photo or even video sharing social networking services (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, etc.) [4,6]. Similarly, they seem to be turning over time to new forms of television viewing from and through the Internet (e.g., i-docs, audiovisual platforms with interactivity, etc.) [4,6,62], and, in particular, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (such as, for example, Netflix) [4,6,9]. Moreover, they also tend to be image-driven and make personal statements with their image [11,63], resulting in being the pioneers who used the YouTube audiovisual platform for the first time and a portion of them became what we now call youtubers [4,9]. Likewise, due to this generational behavior, a portion of GenYer members is nowadays self-proclaimed as influencers or social media influencers (SMIs) (a) mostly through Instagram as so-called instagrammers as well as (b) through TikTok as so-called tiktokers mainly from 2018 onwards, which became widely known worldwide during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic [4,9]. Finally, they seem to have developed a kind of efficient multi-tasking, which helps them cope with their daily lives [4,11,54,62,81].

The most characteristic paradigms of portraying the humans who make up GenYer as the international archetype through the audiovisual industry around the world are the foreign television series:

• ‘The Big Bang Theory’ from CBS (2007–2019) which follows the life of a GenYer members group, most of whom are young, highly intelligent scientists, living in Pasadena, CA, USA;
• ‘Greek’ (typographically stylized as GRΣΣK) from ABC Family (2007–2011) which follows the GenYer students of the fictitious Cyprus-Rhodes University (CRU) with a school Greek system, as well as the fictional fraternities Kappa Tau Gamma (ΚΤΓ) and Omega Chi Delta (ΩΧΔ), or the fictional sorority Zeta Beta Zeta (ΖΒΖ), located in Ohio, USA;
• ‘Scream Queens’ from FOX (2015–2016) which follows the life of a group young adult female GenYers in the fictional Kappa Kappa Tau (KKT) sorority set at the fictional Wallace University in USA;
• ‘Emily in Paris’ from Netflix (2020–) which follows the new life of a young GenYer girl from Chicago, Illinois, USA, in Paris, France; and
• ‘Valeria’ from Netflix (2020–) which follows the life of four GenYer females around thirty and over in Madrid, Spain, where it is considered the Spanish (and European contemporary and modernized) version of SATC with the millennials’ voice focusing on real problems, unemployment, living with parents, sex life, realistic moments, love, and more.

2.2.3. GenZer

GenZer’s baptismal name refers to the fact that it is the second genealogical cohort after GenXer, continuing the alphabetical sequence of GenYer. This genealogical cohort was born into the digital technological communication era (i.e., Internet and social media age), and is one of the newest genealogical cohorts with adult members [3,4,6,37]. GenZer members’ (also known as zoomer/s—a term that refers to humans born in the late 1990s and early 2000s) communication code is characterized as multiple-multimedia and is considered a complete multimedia communication [9] (p. 43) as they use texts, images/pictures/photographs, sounds/audio medias, and videos to understand the world [4,6].

This genealogical cohort has faced and continues to face global terrorism, the aftermath of 9/11, school violence that has been now baptized as school bullying, economic uncertainty, recession, the old and new global financial crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, the new forms of climate change (e.g., extreme weather events out of season), the energy crisis, and the ongoing threat of a new world war [3,4,6,11,12,82]. Although GenZer members’ genealogical cohort were born into the social media era, nevertheless many of its members themselves are overprotective of their privacy and usually reported to make use of particular social media (such as, for example, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch and Tinder) or none [4,6,80].

In terms of characteristics, lifestyles, behaviors, and attitudes, GenZer members are regarded as open-minded without inhibitions and try everything and anything, self-identify with various sexual orientation and gender identities, self-controlled, more responsible, and technology literate, having learned to use the Internet for any need and in all their daily activities as if they have learned a second language with high-tech and multiple sources of information and data [4,6,11,12,83]. Additionally, they have a demanding request to filter these sources in order to mitigate the overload of various messages to which they are bombarded from multiple sides in cyberspace [4,6,84,85]. Likewise, they seem to have the habit and custom of constantly binge-watching and multi-screening, usually through modern and online media sources (such as, for example, Video on Demand; VoD, over-the-top; OTT platforms, etc.) [4,6,82,86,87,88]. Moreover, GenZer members also seem to spend several hours consuming multimedia and hypermedia content from and through the Internet and certain social media, such as, for the example, the audiovisual platforms YouTube, Twitch and Netflix or even the illegal downloading from torrent sources [3,4,6,89,90,91,92], so they do not use the traditional small screen like the members of the older generations as a starting point, which allows them to consume non-default television content. Although this generation is characterized as a ‘visual generation’, its members nevertheless seem to listen to a lot of music, music songs and podcasts [37]. Finally, in various educational institutions, as well as in other similar conventional and non-conventional learning environments as learners, they seem to get bored very easily and need constant stimuli so that they are not distracted, while at the same time they are impatient, think more visually, and they do many things at once [4,6,89]. Likewise, they seem to have complete apathy for new knowledge (i.e., they could be called the ’apathetic generation’), while on the other hand they know everything about sexual and gender identities [47].

In summary, although this generational cohort seems to have appropriated and embraced the unknown and/or long forgotten hipsterism subculture in a new dimension—unlike GenXer members who are their parents or grandparents who lived in this era. On the other hand, they seem to be very conformist at the same time. In other words, this genealogical cohort is also seen as the new conservatives who embrace traditional beliefs and value the family unit [11], thus having several features in common with members of the Silent Generation (humans born from 1925 to 1945) who are their grandparents or even great-grandparents [4,6,45]. Additionally, they also seem to have common parenting values with GenXer regarding cultural change and cross-generational parenting of children, such as love, respect, peace, and togetherness [93]. Moreover, they are ready for any mission set for them with confidence and a lot of optimism. They also believe that they can influence the world, visualize, and change places in some way, as well as project possible behaviors, resulting in being perhaps the most imaginative genealogical cohort with different experiences and ideas who think more laterally [11,12,94]. Furthermore, this genealogical cohort is largely responsible for creating most of the world-renowned brands, the various technological and digital products, as well as the modern trends which we have and widely use today [4,6,72,95]. On the other hand, nowadays, before the COVID-19 pandemic and especially after 2020, they seem to be adopting the fashion of the year 2000 (Y2K), bringing back to the fore the millennials’ stylistic trends (e.g., tramp stamps, low-rise jeans, bandanas, transparent tops, etc.)—something that has been strongly reflected during the last two years (i.e., between 2020 to 2022) in international television productions concerning the lives of the GenZer member teenagers, following the trends of the time.

Overall, the most characteristic paradigms for portraying the humans who make up GenZer as the international archetype through the audiovisual industry around the world with a point of reference on diversity, sexuality and sexual identity, romances, as well as all sorts of angst and contemporary concerns of the GenZer members are the foreign television series:

• ‘SKAM’ (English: Shame) from NRK1 (2015–2017) which follows the daily life of GenZer teenagers at the Hartvig Nissen School, a gymnasium in the wealthy borough of Frogner in West End Oslo, Norway—as well as its seven versions: (a) ‘SKAM France’ (also called SKAM Belgique; often stylized as SKAM) in France from France.tv Slash and France 4 as well as Belgium in Wallonia from La Trois (2018–); (b) ‘Druck’ (English: Pressure) in Germany on Funk and YouTube (2018–); (c) ‘SKAM Italia’ in Italy from TIMvision and Netflix (2018–); (d) ‘SKAM Austin’ in USA from Facebook Watch (2018–2019); (e) ‘SKAM España’ in Spain from Movistar+ (2018–2020); (f) ‘SKAM NL’ in Netherlands from NTR (2018–2019); and (g) ‘wtFOCK’ in Belgium in Flanders from VIER and VIJF (2018–2021);
• ‘Elite’ (Spanish: Élite; stylized as ELITƎ) from Netflix (2018–) which follows the daily lives of GenZer teenage students in Las Encinas, a fictional elite secondary school in Spain—as well as its upcoming Indian version titled ‘Class’, again from Netflix;
• ‘Degrassi: Next Class’ from Family Channel in Canada and Netflix (2016–2017) which is the fifth series in the eponymous Canadian Degrassi franchise (1979–) and a direct sequel (i.e., a reboot) to the fourth Canadian GenYer series (‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’) (2001–2015) that would appeal to the international emerging GenZer;
• ‘Sex Education’ from Netflix (2019–) is a British television series which follows the daily life of GenZer teenage students of the fictional Moordale Secondary School in United Kingdom (UK);
• ‘Grand Army’ from Netflix (2022) which follows the daily life of GenZer teenage students in Brooklyn, New York, USA, at the fictional public Grand Army high school;
• ‘Rebelde’ (English: Rebel; stylized as REBƎLDE) from Netflix (2022–) are the fifth and Mexican version series worldwide as well as the sequel to the second version series of the Mexican GenYer telenovela ‘Rebelde’ (2004–2006) which in turn is a reboot of the eponymous Argentine GenYer telenovela ‘Rebelde Way’ (2002–2003) (official series) which follows the daily life of GenZer teenage students in Mexico City at the fictional prestigious private boarding school Elite Way School;
• ‘Heartbreak High’ from Netflix (2022–) are the reboot worldwide of the eponymous Australian GenYer series in 1994 which follows the daily life of GenZer teenage students in Australia at the fictional school Hartley High;
• ‘Control Z’ from Netflix (2020–2022) which follows the daily life of teenage students at the Colegio Nacional (National School) in Mexico;
• ‘Young Royals’ from Netflix (2022–) which follow the story of young Prince Wilhelm of Sweden at the fictional elite boarding school Hillerska in Sweden; and
• ‘Heartstopper’ from Netflix (2022–) which follows the story of two boys and their friends at the fictional Truham Grammar High School in UK, which is adapted from the eponymous webcomic and graphic novel.

3. Research Methodological Approach: Methods and Materials

This article applies the case study method [96,97,98] from and through technology-enhanced methods [33]. The case study is considered an in-depth, detailed examination of a specific case (or even cases) within a real context or setting, where it can be broadly applied across disciplines and sciences [96,97,98]. Similarly, it is considered as one of the most emerging and modern research methods in recent years in academic fields [64,66]. In this particular case, as mentioned, the brand case study of the Greek chocolate “LACTA” is presented in the next section (Section 4) through discussion in the widest possible context. Additionally, based on the research methodology literature, the present case study is characterized as a kind of literature case study [99]. As mentioned, this Greek case study is a characteristic and typical paradigm of re-approaching the brand through branded content from and through the Internet and social media, as well as generations’ perspectives. Likewise, this brand case study is also a practical example of how to create and design branded entertainment campaigns with suitable communication strategies based on differences between genealogical cohorts.

On the one hand, the main research method used to implement the case study was an enhanced systematic review. Furthermore, the focus group method was also enlisted and implemented in an online version as secondary and supporting method to further support the case study so that there would be additional validity and reliability of the literature and information sources presented. Summing up, these research methods and how they were applied to this particular study are presented in the following sub-sections through discussion, Section 3.1 and Section 3.2. Finally, this study was conducted according to the rules and procedures suggested by the “Committee on Research Ethics and Conduct” of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (hereinafter called the AUTh) in Greece, the guidelines of the Helsinki ethics protocol [100] and the relevant European provisions on the use of personal data (also known as General Data Protection Regulation; GDPR) [101], as in all research studies from the cross-cultural research project MACE (Appendix A).

3.1. Enhanced Systematic Review Method

The enhanced systematic review method was applied through the mentioned online library technology-enhanced research method [33] following predetermined stages [34]. More precisely, the online library technology-enhanced research method was achieved with systematic searches from and through the Internet, applying online and technology-enhanced research methods through Internet applications and services [33]. Overall, methods of finding information on the Internet are mostly used in the literature review stage of a study or even research as a review methodology [33] (p. 4). In addition, these methods can also be applied during the process of cross-referencing the literature in a study or research that follows traditional or even purely traditional tactics combined with research from and through the Internet [33] (p. 4). Similarly, it can also be used as a method or even a combination of methods within a systematic review or meta-analysis of data and information in order to draw a more complete or comprehensive conclusion [33] (p. 4). To summarize, in this case the methods of finding information on the Internet were applied through (a) online archives from online press after the proposed implementation of the information evaluation method and (b) various bibliographic databases (e.g., ERIC, Web of Science, etc.) [33] (p. 4).

3.2. Focus Group Method

The focus group method is considered very useful for the exploration of opinions, attitudes, and characteristics, as well as the identification and pre-checking of miscellaneous and non-evidence, variables, facts, and information [102]. Likewise, it is also characterized as an advantage for gaining deeper knowledge on the perceptions of a group of humans [103]. In this particular case, it was the most appropriate method for checking and cross-referencing the literature and information sources that emerged and obtained from the review to provide validity and verification. Similarly, it is suitable for enhancing this literature and information sources and in constituting the mentioned brand case study comprehensively. In this study, this research method was theoretically implemented in four online stages; three were implemented in an earlier time frame and the fourth in a later and more recent time period. Notably, this research method was initially applied within the framework of the mentioned research project MACE to carry out an online pilot case study as a cross-cultural pre-pilot survey through two online focus groups in three stages to achieve triangulation. More concretely, (a) nine adults (18 years old and older) from Thessaloniki (Greece) (five PhD candidates and four postgraduate students of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Faculty of Economic and Political Sciences, AUTh; as experts in the field) in November 2020 (first online stage ratification); and (b) eight adults (18 years old and older) (active adult educators) during the academic year 2020–2021, including four participants from Cyprus and four participants from Greece, in a double phase in June 2021 (second online stage re-verification, in the context of culturally related processes) and in October 2021 (third online stage iterative re-verification; thus ensuring the reliability and validity of literature and information sources through triangulation) [6] (pp. 2–3). Due to the long time frame in which the online focus groups were conducted, in this case, the same eight adults above were re-recruited again in October 2022 into a new online cross-cultural focus group, in order to re-ensure the reliability and validity of new literature and information sources in relation to the Greek chocolate “LACTA” (final fourth essential online stage). In closing and according to the research methodology literature [103,104], it should be mentioned that the above research samples of each corresponding stage for online focus group sample sizes are considered ideal for the application of the focus group method.

4. Research Findings and Discussion

This section provides the outcome of the research methodological approach’s findings derived and obtained from the above-mentioned methods (i.e., the enhanced systematic review and the focus-group method) for creating the case study, according to a combination of traditional and modern rules of scientific correctness [33,96,104,105,106,107,108,109]. More specifically, to better present the literature-supported information, interpret the research findings, and understand their significance, this section has been organized based on the stated RP of this article. The section starts (a) with the first sub-section in which the aforementioned brand case study of the Greek chocolate “LACTA” is thoroughly presented through embedded hyperlinks (URL addresses) from the audiovisual-hosting platforms YouTube and Vimeo (i.e., an audiovisual-supported case study), providing best communication practices for sustainable objectives through discussion in the widest possible context (Section 4.1); and (b) concludes with the second sub-section with a summary of the current position with concluding discussion and conclusions (Section 4.2).

4.1. The Case Study of LACTA Chocolate from Greece: Brand and Branded Content from and through the Internet and Social Media

LACTA chocolate made an official appearance in the consumer landscape of Greece during the 1960s as a children’s milk chocolate, and was addressed to the then underage members of GenXer and Baby Boomer Generation. A few decades later, with the birth of private television in Greece in the 1990s, LACTA redefines its consumer identity as an adult milk chocolate, while also signifying the official debut of its branded content through a television commercial in 1991 (Appendix B). Furthermore, at the same time, the slogan which accompanies it to this day in all the media commercials (i.e., television commercials, radio commercials, print commercials, etc.) and campaigns was also born—“Lacta. The sweetest part of your life.” («Lacta. Το πιο γλυκό κομμάτι της ζωής σας.» in Greek language), thus creating its new, more modern, brand identity. The storytelling of its first television commercials primarily used the pain of separation and the sadness of loneliness, which created a kind of nostalgic mood [110,111,112,113], and of course the reunion embodied by young adult GenXer couples. Later the LACTA television (or even print) commercials began to show how the product’s sweet taste can get someone in touch with her/his most sensitive side and remind us of how sweet love can be (again with young adult GenXer couples and later with young post-adolescent or young adult GenYer couples). All LACTA media commercials seem to have always focused and aimed more at the emotional relationship of the brand with the consumer than on the product’s per se features. Undoubtedly, LACTA media commercials are also all characterized as modern, dynamic, and naturally youthful, while several of its television commercials take place in places frequented by young humans such as concert halls and clubs. Admittedly, at this point it should be mentioned that the musical compositions used perhaps play a catalytic role in the storytelling of the television and radio commercials, which always lead the viewer or listener to the happy finale through emotional aspects and quality of experience [114,115,116]. Unquestionably, it is a fact that the music songs that have been used as background music in the television (or even in the radio) commercials immediately became radio and commercial hits in Greece and Cyprus or have even been identified with the product itself such as, for example: (a) “The sweetest part of my life” («Το πιο γλυκό κομμάτι της ζωής μου» in Greek language) which was performed by Stefanos Korkolis in 1995 as well as its re-performance by Panos Mouzourakis in 2010—this title as well as the music song are now considered elements of brand awareness; (b) “Red Kiss” («Κόκκινο φιλί» in Greek language) by Blue in 2000; (c) “I’ll wait” («Θα περιμένω» in Greek language) by C:Real in 2004; (d) “A moment of you and me” («Μια στιγμή εσύ και εγώ» in Greek language) by Tamta in 2007; (e) “Divine” by Transistor in 2009; (f) “Love comes at the end” («H αγάπη έρχεται στο τέλος» in Greek language) by Antonis Remos in 2013—additionally, this music song was also considered an element of brand awareness; and more. Over time, all LACTA media commercials have further strengthened its brand, culminating in 2008 when it decided to focus on the contemporary needs of the times and turn further on the younger generational cohort, the GenYer.

In 2008, therefore, LACTA presented for the first time in Greece the first online branded entertainment campaign, thus laying the foundations for how a traditional brand can be adapted to the spirit and environment of the time. More concretely, this project/campaign (campaign/s from here on) presented the first online interactive summer love story of a GenYer young adult couple in the Greek island of Paros under the form of an online movie video, entitled “Love at first site” (stylized as “love@first site”) through an official online site (http://www.loveatfirstsite.gr—this website/weblog no longer works properly because it uses technology with the plugin Flash Player) [117,118]. This online movie video was created to support LACTA’s then-new innovative business initiative (as a supporting and below the line; BTL activity) utilizing the audiovisual platform YouTube, targeting mainly younger GenYer members (that is, the then twenty-somethings mainly who did not watch much conventional television). In essence, we are talking about an unofficial online interactive 14 min short film—17 min short film with shredded (right and wrong) scenes (i.e., online users had to choose the correct online pathway / scene to see the responding ending) [117] (Appendix C). Summing up, this shredded short film was created and screened in order to enhance and promote the LACTA corporate brand using multiple and combined methods. Specifically, traditional, and modern methods through television, radio, cinemas and all LACTA packages as well as from and through the Internet and at the time well-known social media in Greece (i.e., Facebook and YouTube)—that is, a through the line advertising or a 360-degree approach. Additionally, “Love at first site” was mentioned in (a) prestigious international and popular magazines, such as Contagious Magazine and Advertising Age; (b) articles in famous advertising blogs, such as Adverblog; (c) as well as featured selections from the FWA. This campaign is now considered internationally as a useful case study on how a brand can come close to its audience, engaging it, and providing fun and integrated experiences [119] (Appendix D).

Then in 2010, the first official online interactive mini-film brand in Greece in the framework of LACTA’s new integrated campaign as above the line (ATL) activity, under the name “Love in Action” was introduced [6,118,120,121]. This 27 min branded-entertainment film negotiated a real-life love story that was turned into a(n online) movie by LACTA in three parts (Appendix E), after all necessary changes were made to adapt it to a modern winter love story with a GenYer young adult couple. The story was selected among the top five stories out of the 1307 love stories submitted through the campaign’s official online site (http://www.loveinaction.gr—this website/weblog no longer exists, accessed on 7 November 2022), in a film script by the well-famous screenwriter and actor of Greek television series (e.g., Savatogennimenes/Saturday-borns—Σαββατογεννημένες of Greek language in 2003–2004 and Sto Para 5/In the Nick of Time—Στο Παρά 5 of Greek language in 2005–2007 [6]) Giorgos Kapoutzidis [121,122]. “Love in Action” production started in October 2009 and was accomplished (a) with the participation of the GenYer young adult audiences on set; as well as (b) with useful help of GenXer and GenYer online users from and through the Internet and social media (in this case, through the official social media accounts of LACTA, on Facebook—https://www.facebook.com/Lacta/, accessed on 7 November 2022; and on Twitter—@LactaFilms), where they voted on who actors will take the leading roles, where some of the filming will take place, the names of the protagonists in the movie, the clothes the protagonists will wear, and more [118,121,122]. At this point it should be mentioned that this mini-film brand would initially only be available online on Valentine’s Day (14 February 2010) on the campaign’s official online site, but due to its huge impact on the Internet and social media, it was finally broadcast also on the private panhellenic television channel MEGA Greece on the same day with a huge impact on television viewership [6] (p. 19). To summarize, the interactive digital communication implemented in this context seems to have helped to initiate the building of LACTA’s enduring relations with the audience [7,9,123,124].

In 2011 with the campaign “Lacta Surprises”, LACTA’s new integrated business action, LACTA gave five Greek adult lovers (GenYer and GenXer members) the opportunity to express their love in the most vivid way. Specifically, LACTA assisted in this endeavor by organizing a unique surprise for the selected fan/loyal online users upon online request. This was an amazing surprise filmed with hidden cameras in collaboration with the production team of MTV Greece in downtown Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), in order to record the surprise in the eyes of the loved ones under the sounds of the re-execution of the music song “The sweetest part of my life” performed by Panos Mouzourakis [125]. The special five episodes of “Lacta Surprises” were broadcast from the former private channel television MTV Greece (2008 to 2016—renamed RISE TV from 2016 to present) as well as aired/uploaded online from and through Internet and social media (Appendix F). In other words, it was a production of branded entertainment content, with the characteristics of a reality television production, where the participation of the audiences and consumers started through social media as online users and was completed through the television broadcast [125].

Immediately in 2013, LACTA created the first Greek full-length brand film with the direct participation of audiences and consumers from and through the Internet and social media from Greece and Cyprus as online users, under the name “Love in the end”. Continuing its strategy of being a symbol for the sweetness of love, LACTA invited its fans/loyals to submit their stories of unfulfilled love, promising to give them the happy ending they never had on the cinema screen. The storytelling of the brand film was based on three real-life stories of unfulfilled love that were selected out of the hundreds sent by the GenXer and GenYer online users through the official online site of this campaign (https://www.loveintheend.gr/, accessed on 7 November 2022). The selected stories were adapted into love stories following the thunderous love of six GenYer young adults in Thessaloniki and Athens in Greece but also on a cruise to Istanbul in Turkey and the Greek island of Rhodes under the sounds of a specially commissioned music song performed by the famous singer Antonis Remos—one of the most commercial singers in the Greek music industry. Based on the literature [126,127,128,129,130], this tactic of using music songs performed by famous artists as selecting celebrity endorsers [130,131,132,133] is considered to help build loyalty, and introduce brands, as well as enhance or modify consumer knowledge about brands—something that seems to have happened and been achieved in this particular case. The campaign continued with a transmedia campaign to promote the movie, starting with an online 20 min short film though the campaign’s official online site using the audiovisual platform YouTube. This short film shows the beginning of one of the three stories that took place in Thessaloniki (Greece), ending on a cliffhanger (Appendix G). Additionally, this short film was also broadcast on the private panhellenic television channel STAR with a huge impact on television viewership. Then followed an alternate reality game (ARG), that was launched when the heroine of that story supposedly posted a YouTube video, asking online users for help (Appendix H) [118,134]. At this point it should be mentioned that this video was also presented in the form of news on various Greek official news and entertainment websites as well as in the main news bulletin of the private panhellenic television channel STAR. Furthermore, in the context of the online promotion of the movie but also with the support of the ARG which had already influenced consumer behavior, additional fake profiles were created for the movie’s protagonists on social media (i.e., on Facebook and YouTube) as well as numerous fake websites in order to make the movie look real [134]. Summing up, this campaign became a big hit with audiences in Greece and Cyprus. Also, this full-length brand film gave LACTA the opportunity to become an international case study on how a brand managed to create audiovisual branded content where the online users or even audiences and consumers, under normal circumstances, would have to pay to be able to see it [6] (p. 19) (Appendix I).

In 2014, LACTA continued its long tradition in online branded content, this time making a serious turn in non-fiction through an online hour-long documentary, under the title “Does Love Exist?” («Υπάρχει Aγάπη;» in Greek language) (Appendix J). This documentary was aired through the campaign’s official online site (http://www.YparxeiAgapi.gr—this website/weblog no longer exists), but also as a prime-time television special on the private panhellenic television channel ANT1 Greece, on the eve of Valentine’s Day (13 February 2014), with a huge successful impact [135]. LACTA has been a symbol of love for many generations of Greeks over time. Due to the economic crisis of recent years, priorities have changed for the new generations (i.e., GenYer and GenZer). Instead of searching for true love, they focus first on pursuing a successful career. At the same time, the Internet and social media have also changed the way that the younger adult members of the generations flirt (i.e., GenZer). Unfortunately, this meta-transitional technological world has made humans no longer believe so much in the value of true love. On the occasion of this event, LACTA chose to address this key issue through a documentary that immediately became a popular topic in Greece, thus starting an ongoing discussion and debate from and through the Internet and social media using the Greeklish (also known as Grenglish, Latinoellinika, or ASCII Greek [6]) hashtag #YparxiAgapi, with excited viewers, audiences, consumers and online users who commented on how it made them re-evaluate their attitude towards true love [135].

From 2015 onwards, LACTA has had a dynamic and strong presence from and through the Internet and social media. The main advertising tools used by LACTA are its official social media accounts, especially its official account on the audiovisual platform YouTube, enriched with unique online audiovisual branded content on the subject of love. Characteristic paradigms are the (a) “Make the move” («Κάνε το βήμα» in Greek language) in 2015, a mini original web-series of five short 11 to 18 min web-episodes [136] (Appendix K); (b) “Love like there’s no tomorrow” («Aγάπα σαν να μην υπάρχει αύριο» in Greek language) in 2016, another new interactive mini-film brand [137,138] (Appendix L); (c) “From the Start” («Aπό την Aρχή» in Greek language) in 2017, another mini original web-series of five short 13 to 18 min web-episodes [139] (Appendix M); and (d) “The Taste of Love” («H Γεύση της Aγάπης» in Greek language) in 2018, a new hourly online and television movie [140] (Appendix N).

In 2019, before the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, LACTA, influenced by the situation of that time, decided to break the stereotype of heterosexual couples, which has been featured in all campaigns for almost 20 years, opening a new chapter for true love. More specifically, in February 2019, 28 different couples in terms of age, gender, origin, style, identity, special needs and/or disability, starred in the new LACTA campaign through 11 short videos, under the name #ActForLove (https://www.actforlove.gr/, accessed on 7 November 2022). All couples starred in a two-minute video (Appendix O), while 10 of the 28 couples shared their love story in short black-and-white videos (Appendix P). Unfortunately, some humans reacted angrily on social media and then LACTA decided to call the inhabitants of Athens (Greece) to choose what they prefer between anger and love, creating a short video with the title “Keep only the love” («Κράτα μόνο την αγάπη» in Greek language) (Appendix Q). The next year, in 2020, LACTA presented a two-minute video entitled “See Love” («Δες την Aγάπη» in Greek language) (Appendix R), inviting us to see love beyond social solidity, addressing issues of personal style, body type, humans with disabilities, identity, gender, and color. In early 2021, it re-adapted the same video with statistics, focusing on gender, color, and personal styles, under the name “Share the Love” («Μοιράσου την Aγάπη» in Greek language) (Appendix S).

Before continuing, it should be mentioned that 2021 was also a year of black page for Greece. A rise in domestic violence cases stunned the nation, especially after 13 brutal femicides that were reported in the media until October 2021 (18 in total at the end of 2021 and 16 in 2022 at the time of writing this article). Many of these murders have been called “love” crimes. LACTA, synonymous with the word love over time, decided to make a short film that showed what is not a love story, under the name “Don’t Ever Leave Me” («Μη με Aφήσεις Ποτέ» in Greek language) (Appendix T), thus opening a new chapter for its sustainability goals through the factor for social equity and justice. This four-minute film was released in anticipation of November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, creating a huge impact on Greek society. The storytelling begins as a cliché love story but soon takes a darker turn into an abusive, toxic relationship. The film ends with a warning to women to be on the lookout for the signs of psychological and physical abuse, providing further information in cooperation with “Diotima” («Διοτίμα» in Greek language), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Greece devoted to Gender Rights and Equality. Summing up, this short film has instantly gone viral, trending on both Twitter and YouTube (more precisely, #1 trending video for 10 days), with most major media outlets in Greece and Cyprus, as well as a plethora of websites reporting on it (in Greece, Cyprus and abroad), causing much discussion (Appendix U), while it has been shown in schools as educational material. Finally, (a) it won (i) the audience award in the video category “Corporate Social Responsibility” at the 26th Webby Awards [141]; (ii) the Graphite Pencil at the D&AD Awards [142]; (iii) the Gold Lion in the Glass: The Lion for Change category at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity [143]; while (b) it was awarded two Gold Effies in the categories “Social Good—Brands” and “Branded Content & Entertainment”, also winning the Grand Effie at the Effie Awards Hellas 2022 and declaring LACTA as Brand of the Year [144].

In 2022, LACTA wondered if love is just romance, and what is this thing called love. Through a cover of the classic Greek love music song “What is this thing called love?” («Τι είναι αυτό που το λένε αγάπη;» in Greek language) first sung by Sophia Loren in the 1950s at its core, LACTA released its first campaign focusing on the global feeling of love (such as family love and love between friends) and not only the romance (Appendix V). It is well-known that feelings remain relevant and empower more consumers at more stages of life. Thus, the new campaign concludes with a new limited web-series of three 10 min web-episodes, entitled “Short Stories of Great Love” («Μικρές Ιστορίες Μεγάλης Aγάπης» in Greek language), exploring love even more and telling stories of maternal love, true friendship, and an unconventional romance [145] (Appendix W). The episodes were initially released on the campaign’s official online site (https://www.lactastories.gr/, accessed on 7 November 2022) and could only be unlocked by entering a code that was contained within each LACTA chocolate package [145]. Online viewers could share an episode with those they love, hiding a personalized note for them to discover, which would be presented during the end titles. When the web-series was widely released online, it became a big hit, with two of the episodes becoming top-trending videos on YouTube [145].

4.2. Concluding Discussion

The Greek LACTA chocolate has always targeted, focused, and aimed primarily at young adults, something which has also been pointed out by the participants who participated in the framework of focus groups. Over time, it undoubtedly became established as a sustainable symbol of love in both Greece and Cyprus, utilizing highly inventive techniques, strategic practices and modern methods from advertising, public relations, digital marketing, and mobile marketing from and through the Internet and social media, as well as multi-genealogical marketing. Undoubtedly, the effective integration of social media into marketing communications within its campaigns, as also highlighted in the literature [7,9,146], seems to have further increased its awareness and brand, thus achieving sustainability purposes through indirect digital marketing strategies in light of mainly viral marketing and social media marketing by the online users, audiences, consumers and fans/loyals (such as, for example, “Love in Action”, “Love in the end”, #ActForLove, “Don’t Ever Leave Me”, etc.).

Admittedly, it is a fact that LACTA also managed to identify various music songs with its brand through emotional aspects and quality of experience, so that they are now considered part of its sustainable brand awareness, thereby further achieving its sustainable communication. In addition, as stated in the literature [127,128], over time, it managed through its music songs to overcome the limits imposed by traditional advertising (i.e., syncing music songs with audiovisual commercials) and started producing entertainment through audiovisual branded content (e.g., through video clips, series, video games or television programs) (such as, for example, “The sweetest part of my life” by Panos Mouzourakis for “Lacta Surprises”, “Love comes at the end” by Antonis Remos for “Love in the end”, etc.). Besides, it now knows how to properly and sustainably use the feeling of truly falling in love through the sweet taste it leaves behind in a person or even in the soul or mind in every generation.

In conclusion, LACTA is considered a useful case study on how a brand can get close to its audience by engaging and delivering integrated healthy and sustainable communication experiences from and through the Internet and social media corresponding to each generation. Moreover, its audiovisual branded content may well be used as educational audiovisual content through modern and audiovisual technology-supported teaching methodologies and methods [6,22,111]. Summing up, on the one hand, what LACTA will continue to do, however, is to continue to (a) visualize and humanize, communicating its brand sustainability through media commercials, or through its music songs for its brand awareness through media or even from and through the Internet and social media; and (b) implement multi-generational marketing. Finally, sustainable communication is after all a commitment which helps build its reputation, and LACTA seem to know this all too well.

5. Conclusions and Epilogue

Internet technologies have re-tailored brands and brought about consuming modern branded content. The contemporary ways of consuming the experience in conjunction with the meta-evolution of the Internet (that is, from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0) are now summed up in the emotional act of building a new and modern content, the audiovisual branded content. Communicators, public relations/marketing/advertising scholars, practitioners, business owners, public relations/marketing/advertising account executives/managers/directors, public relations/marketing/advertising associations worldwide will need to embrace these aforementioned changes as well as modern conditions in order to become recognizable and competitive. Fortunately, the aforementioned did not leave many companies and businesses around the world unmoved, as they have slowly begun to re-shape their brand and branded content into audiovisual branded content with the valuable help of the audiovisual industry.

The categorization of generational cohorts, which is characterized as a historical neighborhood, undoubtedly plays a decisive role in the creation and evolution of audiovisual branded content [6]. It is a fact that in recent decades there has been a heated debate about the generational cohort someone may belong to. Generational cohorts are of great interest, especially to the media environment and audiovisual industry, the communication-science triptych world and the public because members of each generation are usually influenced by the motivations and uses of the media [4,6,37]. Admittedly, this was fueled by the increasing production and distribution of multiple-multimodal material worldwide as well as by the wide expansion of the consumption of audiovisual content from and through the Internet and social media [9,36,37,38]. Undoubtedly, this phenomenon is evident primarily in the adult generations’ members with the younger adults today (2022) (i.e., GenZer and GenYer) as well as in humans born at least in the last five decades (i.e., GenXer), who tend to use the Internet and social media more and more in every aspect of their daily lives with multiple-multimodal media production, processing, and management tasks [4,6,37].

Ultimately, the latent research aim (i.e., the goal) of this article was to outline the de novo approach to the consumption of branded content from and through the Internet and social media. The brand case study of the Greek chocolate “LACTA” is a characteristic and typical as well as promising paradigm of strategic tactics and practices for effective execution from and through the Internet and social media for sustainable development through healthy communication. Admittedly, in this case study, branded content is more narrative-oriented than advertising persuasion, as the product and the brand become the content itself from and through the Internet and social media [9,21,120,147]—something that could be considered as the secret of the brand’s future sustainability. Summing up, what we must always keep in mind is that social media are always aimed at humans [9] (p. 203). Thus, the budding and old advertisers, communicators, brand/product managers, media, and public relations/marketing/advertising account executives/managers/directors, as well as public relations/marketing/advertising organizations and associations worldwide, and media planners must first understand and therefore interact with them without any exploitation. Additionally, members of generational cohorts, as aforementioned, (a) exchange information in their social environment from and through the Internet and social media; and (b) create, build, and maintain (i) symmetrical communication and dialogue, as well as (ii) relationships [4,6,9,37].

Overall, what we need to keep in mind is that there will always be room for further improvement of strategic tactics and practices for maintaining and improving a brand through a plethora of business, communication and advertising activities, properly using theoretical approaches as basic public relations, advertising, and marketing communication principles from and through the Internet and social media, considering what other brands have also done [7,9,118,123]. Additionally, knowledge about the multi-generational marketing and the generations are characterized as crucial because not all generational cohorts are alike. Finally, the digital age we live in requires us to always be receptive to any innovation that arises because we live in a world that is constantly changing. If this is really taken into consideration then future public relations, advertising and marketing communication will be better and more sustainable tomorrow.