Integrated marketing communication (IMC) motivates student's eWoM intention and choice of university through brand equity

Oo, Kai Shi (2025) Integrated marketing communication (IMC) motivates student's eWoM intention and choice of university through brand equity. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

In Malaysia’s increasingly competitive higher education sector, universities must build strong brand equity to attract and retain students. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) serves a vital strategy, not only to enhance product or service sales but also to enable Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to customize content while delivering consistent messages. This enhances brand equity and influences students' electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) intentions as well as their university choice. However, in the Malaysian HEI context, research on the direct impact of IMC on HEI brand equity (BE) remains limited. However, limited research has examined the direct effects of individual IMC components—such as public relations, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and personal selling—on HEI brand equity in Malaysia, especially among Generation Z. Addressing these gaps, this study investigates the relationship between IMC tools and HEI BE, alongside the impact of HEI BE on students' eWoM intentions and their choice of university. Grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, this research offers a framework for analysing the psychological processes connecting marketing stimuli to student decision-making. This study gathered 274 valid questionnaires from Generation Z students aged 17 to 28 years old in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that advertising, direct marketing, and personal selling positively influence HEI brand equity (BE), ultimately driving students' electronic word-of�mouth (eWoM) intentions and their choice of university. However, public relations and sales promotion showed no significant impact on HEI BE. These results offer valuable insights for practitioners in the higher education sector, guiding the development of more effective branding and communication strategies. By strengthening brand equity, practitioners can enhance student engagement and ensure the sector's long-term sustainability.

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