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VOL. 10, ISSUE 2 (2025)
Exploring the psychological mechanisms of meme marketing: Customer engagement as a mediating variable
Authors
Ketan Dhankhar, Dr. Sonia
Abstract
The rapid expansion of digital media platforms has significantly
transformed the way brands communicate with consumers, giving rise to
innovative strategies such as meme marketing. Meme marketing, characterized by
the use of humorous, relatable, and culturally embedded content, has emerged as
an effective tool for capturing audience attention and fostering interactive
engagement. The present study aims to explore the underlying psychological
mechanisms through which meme marketing influences consumer behavior, with a
particular focus on the mediating role of customer engagement in shaping
purchase intention. Grounded in established theoretical perspectives, including
Social Identity Theory, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), and Uses and
Gratifications Theory, this research develops a conceptual framework that
explains how consumers process and respond to meme-based content. A
quantitative research design was adopted, and primary data were gathered from
220 active social media users through a structured questionnaire based on a
five-point Likert scale. To ensure robustness of findings, data analysis was
performed using SPSS for reliability testing, descriptive statistics,
correlation, and regression analysis, while Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)
through AMOS/SmartPLS was employed to examine the mediation effect. The
empirical results reveal that meme marketing has a strong and positive impact
on customer engagement, which subsequently enhances consumers’ purchase
intentions. Furthermore, the mediation analysis demonstrates that customer
engagement serves as a significant partial mediator in this relationship. The
study enriches existing literature on digital marketing and consumer psychology
while offering practical implications for marketers seeking to design engaging
and effective meme-based promotional strategies.
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Pages:64-68
How to cite this article:
Ketan Dhankhar, Dr. Sonia "Exploring the psychological mechanisms of meme marketing: Customer engagement as a mediating variable". International Journal of Advanced Research and Development, Vol 10, Issue 2, 2025, Pages 64-68
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