Impact of Content Marketing Strategy on Brand Equity; Evidence from a Multi-Mediator and Multi-Moderator Model

Abstract

This research attempts to investigate the relationship between Content Marketing Strategy (CMS) and Brand Equity (BE), simplified a major gap in the explanation of the psychological and contextual pathways through which digital content affects brand value. As digital technology influences consumer-brand relationships more, this study examines the impact of CMS on brand equity considering mediating variables CE, CT, PV, e and MC and BR which moderate these effects. A cross-sectional analysis was carried out with 200 digital consumers from Pakistan using survey data. Data processing used PLS-SEM with the help of SmartPLS 4 to answer the variables under study. The results show that CMS causes the BE not only directly (β = 0.31) but also mediated by its effect on CE (β = 0.42), CT (β = 0.34), and PV (β = 0.25). The influence of CMS on BE was enhanced by the Market Competition but the Brand Reputation showed minimal or negative interactions. By combining the models of Customer Based Brand Equity and Stimulus-Organism-Response into a complete multi-path architecture, this study provides scientific breakthrough analysis. It offers an opportunity for valuable guidance to marketers seeking to improve brand equity through digital content and for further research work in differing cultural and market settings.

Keywords: Content Marketing Strategy, Brand Equity, Customer Engagement, Trust, Perceived Value, Market Competition, Digital Branding, PLS-SEM