THE EFFECT OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING ON CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND BRAND AWARENESS AMONG GENERATION Z
Keywords:
Digital Storytelling, Customer Engagement, Brand Awareness, Generation Z, Social Media
Abstract
This research investigates the impact of digital storytelling on customer engagement and brand awareness among Generation Z social media users in Indonesia. Recent studies indicate that immersive, character-driven, and authentic digital narratives enhance emotional attachment, cognitive processing, and behavioral responses, subsequently influencing engagement and brand-related outcomes. A quantitative explanatory design was utilized, with data gathered via an online survey targeting active Generation Z social media users who engaged with digital storytelling content. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to analyze the data, examining the direct and mediating effects among digital storytelling, customer engagement, and brand awareness. The findings demonstrate that digital storytelling significantly influences customer engagement and has a moderate direct impact on brand awareness, whereas customer engagement strongly enhances brand awareness. Mediation analysis indicates that customer engagement serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between digital storytelling and brand awareness, with a significant portion of the total effect conveyed through engagement. The findings indicate that digital storytelling strategies should focus on enhancing cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement to establish sustainable brand awareness within Generation Z.
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Ryu, K., Lehto, X. Y., Gordon, S. E., & Fu, X. (2019). Effect of a brand story structure on narrative transportation and perceived brand image of luxury hotels. Tourism Management, 75, 403–417.
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Tan, T. L., & Tran, M. T. (2024). Effects of social media marketing elements on online buying decisions of Vietnamese Generation Z. In R. Ramanathan & A. Kumar (Eds.), Advancing the MarTech revolution (pp. 123–142). Springer.
Teepapal, T. (2025). AI-driven personalization: Unraveling consumer perceptions in social media engagement. Computers in Human Behavior, 152, 107239.
Theocharis, D., & Tsekouropoulos, G. (2025). Sustainable consumption and branding for Gen Z: How brand dimensions influence consumer behavior and adoption of newly launched technological products. Sustainability, 17(1), 428.
van Laer, T., Feiereisen, S., & Visconti, L. M. (2019). Storytelling in the digital era: A meta-analysis of relevant moderators of the narrative transportation effect. Journal of Business Research, 96, 135–146.
Vega, E., & Camarero, C. (2024). Once upon a game: Boosting brand storytelling through gamification. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(2), 210–225.
Weiger, W. H., Giertz, J. N., Hammerschmidt, M., & Hollebeek, L. D. (2025). Blurred lines? Disentangling the roles of consumers' influencer and brand engagement in shaping brand performance. Journal of Business Research, 175, 114525.
Wu, X., & Lai, I. K. W. (2025). The influence of storytelling in luxury hotel short videos on hotel brand attitude: The mediating role of narrative engagement. International Journal of Tourism Research, 27(1), 55–70.
Zimand-Sheiner, D. (2024). Four dimensions of brand storytelling: Framework for managing and analyzing online brand stories. International Journal of Business Communication, 61(2), 256–276.
Sarippudin, A., Fitriani, I. D., & Zulkarnaen, W. (2019). Pengaruh Citra Merek (Brand Image) Terhadap Proses Keputusan Pembelian Handphone Samsung Di Itc Kebon Kalapa Bandung. Jurnal SEMAR: Sain Ekonomi Manajemen & Akuntansi Riviu, 1(3), 42-51.
Amegbe, H., Acquah, I. S. K., & Hanu, C. (2025). Exploring social media branded customer experience and engagement. Strategy & Leadership, 53(2), 15–25.
An, G. K., & Ngo, T. T. A. (2025). AI-powered personalized advertising and purchase intention in Vietnam's digital landscape: The role of trust, relevance, and usefulness. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 11(1), 100225.
Alexander, B. (2011). The new digital storytelling: Creating narratives with new media. Praeger.
Balcıoğlu, Y. S. (2025). The evolving role of storytelling in marketing: From tradition to AI-powered narratives. In Y. S. Balcıoğlu (Ed.), AI impacts on branded entertainment and advertising (pp. 25–49). Springer.
Boeck, H., Bourguignon, B., Saravani, S. H. H., & Bahra, M. (2025). Evaluating the impact of storytelling elements on social media stakeholder engagement: An AI-driven approach. Data & Policy, 7(1), e5.
Brodie, R. J., Hollebeek, L. D., Juric, B., & Ilic, A. (2011). Customer engagement: Conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 252–271.
Coker, K. K., Flight, R. L., & Baima, D. M. (2021). Video storytelling ads vs argumentative ads: How hooking viewers enhances consumer engagement. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 15(4), 567–584.
Crespo, C. F., Ferreira, A. G., & Cardoso, R. M. (2023). The influence of storytelling on the consumer–brand relationship experience. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 11(2), 145–160.
Dang, T.-Q., Nguyen, L.-T., & Duc, D. T. V. (2025). Impulsive buying and compulsive buying in social commerce: An integrated analysis using the Cognitive-Affective-Behavior Model and Theory of Consumption Values with PLS-SEM. SAGE Open, 15(2), 21582440251334215.
Dessart, L., & Pitardi, V. (2019). How stories generate consumer engagement: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Research, 104, 183–195.
Febrianawati, F., Puspitasari, N., & Hidayat, N. (2024). Mendorong Kinerja UMKM Kuliner Pontianak Go Digital: Peran Literasi Digital dan Entrepreneur Literacy. Jurnal Manajemen dan Perbankan (JUMPA), 11(3), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.55963/jumpa.v11i3.690
Ghaleb, M. M. S., & Alawad, W. A. (2024). Social media and purchase intentions of Gen Z: Role of social media influencers. International Journal of Instructional Cases, 8(1), 96–120.
Gemser, G., Calabretta, G., & Karpen, I. (2025). Co-creating the future through design thinking: Deconstructing the consumer co-creation process. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 42(1), 38–56.
Glaser, M. A., Choi, Y. K., & Baumgartner, H. (2024). (Un)bothered by the story's ambiguity: How individual differences in consumers' need for closure affect transportation and brand attitude in narrative ads. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 9(3), 250–268.
Hao, X., Manikandan, S. V., Demir, E., & Eyers, D. (2025). Visual narratives and audience engagement: Edutainment interactive strategies with computer vision and natural language processing. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 19(2), 210–228.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE.
Hollebeek, L. D., Srivastava, R. K., & Chen, T. (2021). Fifteen years of customer engagement research: A bibliometric and network analysis. Journal of Business Research, 135, 59–73.
Kaur, J., Saini, S., Behl, A., & Poonia, A. (2024). Impact of digital storytelling on improving brand image among consumers. Journal of Promotion Management, 30(4), 523–545.
Kock, N. (2024). WarpPLS user manual: Version 8.0. ScriptWarp Systems.
Li, J., Ma, Y., & Sommerfeldt, E. J. (2025). When consumers smell a sell in personal stories: How influencer narratives backfire and the role of sponsorship disclosures. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(2), 315–338.
Liu, L., Wang, Y., Fang, Z., & Wu, S. (2025). The impact of verbal and visual content on consumer engagement in social media marketing. Production and Operations Management, 34(5), 2360–2375.
Mohamed, K. M. M. (2025). Visual storytelling and cultural connection in GCC social media advertising. Frontiers in Communication, 10, 1285436.
Mustafa, S. M. B., Altaany, F., Ebbini, M. M., & Alaa, A. A. (2024). The mediating role of social media marketing effectiveness in the relationship between customer engagement and brand loyalty: A study of Amazon as a retail brand store. Uncertain Supply Chain Management, 12(3), 1755–1766.
Nie, C., & Wang, T. (2021). How global brands incorporate local cultural elements to improve brand evaluations: A perspective on cultural mixing. International Marketing Review, 38(3), 564–586.
Pera, R., & Viglia, G. (2016). Exploring how video digital storytelling builds relationship experiences. Psychology & Marketing, 33(12), 1142–1150.
Rachbini, W., Soeharso, S. Y., & Wulandjani, H. (2023). The impact of brand society and narrative branding on brand image and its implications on consumer purchase behavior: A case study of luxury fashion brands in Jakarta. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 11(6), e732.
Rawangngam, N., Pongsakornrungsilp, P., Siriwong, C., & Kumar, V. (2025). Social media and consumer engagement: A bibliometric analysis and future research directions. Innovative Marketing, 21(1), 1–15.
Razzaq, A., Shao, W., & Quach, S. (2024). Meme marketing effectiveness: A moderated-mediation model. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 77, 103522.
Richter, S., Richter, A., & Franklin, D. (2025). Sticky narratives: How micro-influencers engage and retain their audience through storytelling. Australasian Marketing Journal, 33(1), 1–15.
Ryu, K., Lehto, X. Y., Gordon, S. E., & Fu, X. (2019). Effect of a brand story structure on narrative transportation and perceived brand image of luxury hotels. Tourism Management, 75, 403–417.
Sung, E. C., Han, D. I., Bae, S., & Kwon, O. (2022). What drives technology-enhanced storytelling immersion? The role of digital humans. Computers in Human Behavior, 134, 107301.
Shen, Z. (2021). A persuasive eWOM model for increasing consumer engagement on social media: Evidence from Irish fashion micro-influencers. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 15(3), 301–319.
Tan, T. L., & Tran, M. T. (2024). Effects of social media marketing elements on online buying decisions of Vietnamese Generation Z. In R. Ramanathan & A. Kumar (Eds.), Advancing the MarTech revolution (pp. 123–142). Springer.
Teepapal, T. (2025). AI-driven personalization: Unraveling consumer perceptions in social media engagement. Computers in Human Behavior, 152, 107239.
Theocharis, D., & Tsekouropoulos, G. (2025). Sustainable consumption and branding for Gen Z: How brand dimensions influence consumer behavior and adoption of newly launched technological products. Sustainability, 17(1), 428.
van Laer, T., Feiereisen, S., & Visconti, L. M. (2019). Storytelling in the digital era: A meta-analysis of relevant moderators of the narrative transportation effect. Journal of Business Research, 96, 135–146.
Vega, E., & Camarero, C. (2024). Once upon a game: Boosting brand storytelling through gamification. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(2), 210–225.
Weiger, W. H., Giertz, J. N., Hammerschmidt, M., & Hollebeek, L. D. (2025). Blurred lines? Disentangling the roles of consumers' influencer and brand engagement in shaping brand performance. Journal of Business Research, 175, 114525.
Wu, X., & Lai, I. K. W. (2025). The influence of storytelling in luxury hotel short videos on hotel brand attitude: The mediating role of narrative engagement. International Journal of Tourism Research, 27(1), 55–70.
Zimand-Sheiner, D. (2024). Four dimensions of brand storytelling: Framework for managing and analyzing online brand stories. International Journal of Business Communication, 61(2), 256–276.
Sarippudin, A., Fitriani, I. D., & Zulkarnaen, W. (2019). Pengaruh Citra Merek (Brand Image) Terhadap Proses Keputusan Pembelian Handphone Samsung Di Itc Kebon Kalapa Bandung. Jurnal SEMAR: Sain Ekonomi Manajemen & Akuntansi Riviu, 1(3), 42-51.
Published
2026-07-16
How to Cite
Hidayat, N., Arweni, A., Febrianawati, F., Yuana, Y., & Ramadhani, V. (2026). THE EFFECT OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING ON CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND BRAND AWARENESS AMONG GENERATION Z. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen, Ekonomi, & Akuntansi (MEA), 10(2), 1088-1106. https://doi.org/10.31955/mea.v10i2.6785
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Articles
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