Meme-Based Packaging as Digital Cultural Translation: How Online Cultural Symbols Shape Purchase and Sharing...

Area of Science:

• Consumer Behavior
• Marketing Science
• Cultural Studies

Background:

• Internet memes are increasingly integrated into physical product packaging.
• Limited research exists on consumer responses to online cultural symbols as package design cues.
• The Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework provides a basis for understanding these effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how meme-based packaging influences purchase intention and sharing intention.
• To investigate the mediating roles of perceived value, brand warmth, and cultural resonance.
• To understand the distinct mechanisms driving purchase versus sharing intentions in response to meme packaging.

Main Methods:

• A between-subjects survey experiment involving 305 Chinese adult consumers.
• Comparison of meme-based packaging stimuli against a conventional packaging control group.
• Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze relationships.

Main Results:

• Perceived value was the primary driver of purchase intention.
• Cultural resonance emerged as the strongest predictor of sharing intention.
• Visual attractiveness enhanced perceived value; playfulness and expression-product fit boosted brand warmth and cultural resonance.

Conclusions:

• Meme-based packaging impacts consumer evaluation and social transmission differently for purchase versus sharing.
• Brand warmth and cultural resonance consistently mediate the effects of meme packaging.
• Online cultural symbols significantly shape consumer responses when incorporated into physical product interfaces.