Impact of Green Digital Campaigns on Green Brand Attitude: An Empirical Study of the Fast-Food Sector in Pakistan

Abstract

The growing impetus for environmental sustainability has encouraged fast-food brands in particular to incorporate green messages in their digital marketing endeavors, especially in emerging economies. The present study investigates the impact of green digital campaigns on green brand attitude in the fast-food industry in Pakistan while assessing mediating roles of brand trust, brand authenticity, and customer engagement. The study adopts the Stakeholder Theory and customer-based brand equity models. The study is based on a quantitative cross-sectional approach. The perception of sustainability-oriented digital marketing by fast food brands was measured using structured research instruments administered among 205 undergraduate students in Lahore. The relationships were tested through Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) for the direct and indirect effects between the constructs. The findings show a significant and positive influence of green digital campaigns on green brand attitude. Apart from this, the brand trust, brand authenticity, and customer engagement are found to act as partial mediators. It is evident that greenwashing and transparency within sustainability communication have great significance to consumers. The current study empirically confirms the green marketing and digital branding literature theory from a psychological perspective that defines how green digital communication affects sustainable consumer attitude towards it in emerging markets. From a practical perspective, the results indicate that fast-food brands should consider communicating their sustainability initiatives in transparent, authentic, and engaging ways in order to nurture trust and positively enhance green brand attitudes. The research also suggests directions for future research such as extending the demographic coverage and using longitudinal designs to capture long-term effects of sustainable digital marketing.