Structural Equation Modeling of the Effect of Social Media Marketing on the Revival of Heritage Brands: Examining the Mediating Role of Consumers’ Psychological Responses
Keywords:
Social media marketing, heritage brands, revival of discontinued brands, consumers’ psychological responsesAbstract
The expansion of social media has led to a fundamental transformation in the ways brands communicate with consumers. One of the most compelling areas in this regard is the revival of heritage brands; brands that, for various reasons, had disappeared from consumption cycles are now utilizing the capacity of social media to return to consumers’ minds. Social media has become recognized as one of the most significant tools of modern marketing, fundamentally transforming the relationship between brands and consumers. With the increase in two-way interactions and the formation of brand-oriented communities on digital platforms, new opportunities have emerged for the revival of heritage brands. Brands are now able to redefine their identities through social media marketing and establish effective relationships with a new generation of consumers. The purpose of the present study was to model, through structural equation modeling, the effect of social media marketing on the revival of heritage brands by examining the mediating role of consumers’ psychological responses. In this study, the researcher employed a quantitative research method and a structural equation modeling approach to answer the research questions. The statistical population consisted of consumers of heritage brands (National Shoe products). Due to the unlimited size of the population, a sample size of 180 participants was determined using Cochran’s formula. Descriptive statistics and SPSS version 24 were used to analyze demographic data and extract central tendency indices, while inferential statistics were analyzed using structural equation modeling through Smart PLS version 3. The findings indicated a positive and significant effect of social media marketing, with an emphasis on the role of consumers’ psychological responses, on the revival of heritage brands. The results of this study can provide valuable guidance for managers of brands seeking to revive forgotten brands by relying on the capacities of the digital social environment.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mehrnosh Mofidi Ghari, Heydar Alipour, Fatemeh Movahed nia, Seyyed Vahid Jabbarzade (Author)
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