How Political Brand Preference Is Shaped: The Interplay of Community Involvement, Digital Campaigns, Word of Mouth, Brand Image, and Trust

The study aims to examine the roles of political digital marketing and community involvement in shaping political brand preference through word of mouth, brand image, and trust, within the theoretical framework of social exchange theory. The quantitative approach was employed in this study targeting the population of voters in Pakistan, and data were collected from 1542 respondents using a convenience sampling technique. An online survey questionnaire is used to collect data about the proposed research variable. The assessment and structural models have been evaluated through PLS-SEM, which indicated that all the hypotheses related to the direct and indirect associations are significantly supported under the complex mediation mechanism. In simple words, political digital marketing and community involvement have a substantial impact on political brand preference through the serial mediating roles of negative and positive word-of-mouth, brand image, and brand trust. The leaders and policymakers of political brands can effectively develop digital strategies to enhance voter engagement. Community involvement can help policymakers understand voters’ current needs and concerns, which must be addressed immediately to build an attractive brand image and trust, thereby enhancing political brand preference.