Social Media Marketing and Brand Equity in Blind Box Industry: Mediating Roles of Brand Awareness and eWOM

This study aims to analyze the effect of social media marketing on brand equity with brand awareness and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) as mediating variables among users of blind box products. Using Pop Mart as a study case, Pop Mart is a designer toy brand that has successfully built emotional engagement through digital marketing strategies on TikTok and Instagram. This research adopts a quantitative approach with a survey method involving 150 respondents who are active social media users. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with the help of SmartPLS 4 software. The results show that social media marketing has a significant positive effect on brand awareness, eWOM, and brand equity. Both mediating variables also have a significant impact on brand equity and mediate the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity. These findings indicate that social media marketing strategies are effective in enhancing brand awareness and encouraging positive consumer communication, ultimately strengthening Pop Mart’s brand equity in Indonesia. The novelty of this study lies in the simultaneous examination of two mediating variables within the context of an emotionally driven collectible brand such as Pop Mart’s blind box in Indonesia. This study contributes empirically to the development of digital brand equity literature and offers practical implications for companies to enhance brand value through interactive, community-based social media strategies.