Pengaruh Storytelling dan Instagram Marketing terhadap Minat Beli Fore Coffee di Medan dengan Brand Awareness sebagai Variabel Mediasi

Abstract

The increasing consumption of coffee in Indonesia has led to intense competition among modern coffee brands, such as Fore Coffee, which utilizes Instagram and storytelling as part of its digital communication strategy. Fore Coffee's target market is the younger generation, particularly in the city of Medan, who enjoy the taste and emotional and visual experience of the brand. This study aims to analyze the influence of storytelling and Instagram marketing on the purchase intent of Fore Coffee in Medan, with brand awareness as the mediating variable. Fore Coffee, as one of the modern coffee brands, leverages the power of social media, particularly Instagram, to build emotional connections with consumers through storytelling and digital marketing strategies. The research design used in this study is quantitative research with a non- probability sampling approach. The sample was selected using purposive sampling and included 100 respondents aged between 18 and 35 years who had been exposed to Fore Coffee content on Instagram. SmartPLS version 4.0 was used to analyze the research results through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), which includes testing the measurement model (validity and reliability), the structural model (path analysis), the mediation test, and IPMA analysis test. The research results indicate that the Instagram marketing variable significantly influences brand awareness and purchase intent. The brand awareness variable was also found to influence purchase intent and act as a mediating variable in the relationship between Instagram marketing and purchase intent. Conversely, the storytelling variable was found to have no significant effect on brand awareness or purchase intention and did not show a significant mediating effect. The R2 value was 0.590 for brand awareness and 0.684 for purchase intention, indicating that this research model has good predictive power. The results show that Instagram marketing is more effective in shaping brand perception and driving purchase interest than the storytelling approach aimed at Fore Coffee's local customers.