Study on Influencer Marketing And Brand Awareness

Abstract

Influencer marketing has become a core element of digital marketing strategy, yet the evidence on how it shapes brand awareness and purchase behaviour remains fragmented across contexts, demographics and industries. This study examines the impact of influencer marketing on brand awareness, the effect of influencer credibility on purchase intention, the mediating role of brand awareness, generational differences between Millennials and Generation Z, and the role of AI-driven and virtual influencers in brand engagement and trust. A structured questionnaire was administered to 200 social media users (107 Generation Z and 93 Millennials), and the data were analysed using chi-square tests, one-way ANOVA, simple and multiple linear regression, and a Sobel test in Excel and SPSS. On the illustrative dataset used in this draft, influencer marketing significantly predicted brand awareness (B = 0.686, R² = 0.382, p < .001), and influencer credibility significantly predicted purchase intention (B = 0.409, R² = 0.261, p < .001). Brand awareness partially mediated the link between influencer marketing and purchase intention (indirect effect = 0.301, Sobel z = 5.22, p < .001). Generation Z reported higher influencer marketing effectiveness than Millennials (F(1, 198) = 17.16, p < .001), and exposure to AI-driven and virtual influencers significantly predicted engagement and trust (B = 0.509, R² = 0.351, p < .001). The findings suggest that brands should prioritise credible, well-matched influencers and tailor platform and content strategies to generational cohorts.