When the world is bombarded and perplexed by an influx of social media, gen Z is cruising breezily from one platform to another, not only becoming the master of these platforms but also shaping the future of the digital world. Yet, that world and these digital captains of the world, namely gen Z, are overlooked by other generations as if their virtual world was bounded and inconsequential, exacerbating an already widened gap among them and the other generations. As 40% of gen Z feel detached from their families, Tet (Lunar New Year), to gen Z, is the time when the gap must be subsided for intergenerational family joy to be cherished. What can gen Z do this Tet to connect with other generations and to let others understand genuinely their yearns and needs for family love and bonding? How can other generations see what gen Z is actually doing behind?

Social media – they are born to facilitate social connections. Ironically, most of social platforms are designed, even nowadays customized to, and single-mindedly focused on merely the direct users at a time. They tend not to engage with other surrounding people. Inevitably, the users, in this case mostly gen Z, are seen as being contained within their own digital cells, isolated from the world and other generations.

Lay’s has come to rescue gen Z from that dilemma to break these invisible cells, let the light of compassion through, and spread the joint joy to lift the spirit of Tet. To break the irony, Lay’s develops a concept of PHY-GI-VERSE – a hybrid world between digital and physical - where social media become more translucent. Lay’s PHY-GI-VERSE modifies digital activities to allow others to see through and proactively engage in all activities with gen Z instead of for gen Z alone.

Breaking through those confining walls of social media is indeed a challenge, especially when strutted by Gen Z’s established media engagement behavior. To optimize the effort and the effectiveness, Lay’s brings PHY-GI-VERSE mentality to all activities along the whole customer journey from November when Tet just starts sprouting to the end of January. From Facebook to YouTube and TikTok, Lay’s customizes all activities to ensure that not only do they spread the fun beyond the platforms’ target direct users to engage with all surrounding people but these activities also interconnect with one another among all platforms. Most of social media activities are designed mostly for the users behind the screen. With Lay’s PHY-GI-VERSE, activities are intentionally designed to extend the engagement to everyone all around, not just the users behind the screen alone. By doing so, Lay’s reinforces its positioning as a fun, exciting brand that is synonymous to Tet.

In mid-November, Lay’s kick-starts with a joyful intergenerational music video, sharing gen Z’s need and wish to reconnect with other generations during this special holiday. As the music video opens the door to the PHY-GI-VERSE, Lay’s creates an adorable and joyful cat dance trend on TikTok, allowing gen Z to showcase their entertaining side with friends and families. Along the holiday from home-coming time to Tet and even to departing time, Lay’s releases the 2 PHY-GI-VERSE AR filters, transforming friends, families and even neighbors into giant “cats” – the animal of the year – and an enormous red envelope, following by guided content creation stories, twisted comically from the music video lyrics, inspiring gen Z to co-create content and sharing the Lay’s fun with other generations, instead of enjoying the social media world themselves alone. Also, Lay’s PHY-GI-VERSE is activated on MoMo, Grab and other digital platforms to promote sale.