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Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

  • 12 slides
  • 16 viva questions
  • 5 modules
  • No code needed

@reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-zUpdated Oct 2026

Same 15-second ad, two short-video feeds, 120 viewers: which platform format is remembered after 24 hours, and does recall move intent?

PGDM, Digital Marketing · Sem 3 · Intermediate · 8 weeks · Solo

More info
Degree
Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Branch
Digital Marketing
Level
Intermediate · 8 weeks · Solo
Relevant for
All India
Common at
AICTE-approved PGDM institutes (model curriculum), Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology
Syllabus
AICTE model AICTE model 2018 · MB 303 Internship Project & Viva (6–8 weeks) · Semester 3
Tech stack
  • Within-subject exposure experiment (counterbalanced, n ≈ 120)
  • Mock short-video feeds built as clickable prototypes on phones
  • Google Forms (immediate and 24-hour delayed recall)
  • IBM SPSS Statistics (paired t-test, McNemar, multiple regression)
  • MS Excel (randomisation sheet, coding of unaided recall)
  • ASCI and CCPA advertising guidelines (secondary review)
For educational purposes only

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  1. Pinned

    Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    1 min

    Overview

    Indian direct-to-consumer (D2C) skincare brands spend a large part of their budgets on short-form video. Agencies argue endlessly about whether Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts "performs better", but most of the evidence is platform dashboards: views, completion rates and clicks. Those numbers do not show whether a viewer remembers the brand an hour or a day later, which is what drives later search and purchase.

    This internship project, done with a fictional Kolkata-based digital agency, Hooghly Pixel Media, runs a controlled exposure experiment. About 120 Gen-Z participants (18–27) each scroll two mock feeds on a phone: one styled as a Reels feed and one styled as a Shorts feed. Each feed contains eight ordinary clips and two 15-second ads for fictional D2C skincare brands created for the study, so no participant has prior familiarity. The ad creatives are identical across platforms; only the platform frame, placement and caption style differ. Platform order and brand-to-platform assignment are counterbalanced.

    Immediately after viewing and again 24 hours later, participants complete unaided recall, aided recall, ad recognition and a purchase-intent scale. Paired t-tests compare platforms within the same people, and a regression tests whether recall, attitude toward the ad and perceived creator credibility predict purchase intent. The report follows the AICTE model MB 303 Internship Project format.

    Syllabus alignment

    AICTE model · AICTE model 2018

    MB 303 · Internship Project & Viva (6–8 weeks) · Semester 3 · 6 credits · 100 = report 50 + presentation 30 + viva 20

    Subjects this project applies
    • Digital and Social Media Marketing (marketing elective)
    • Consumer Behaviour
    • Business Research Methods (SPSS)
    • Advertising and Brand Management
    • Excel for managers
    How it is evaluated

    See your department's project guidelines.

    16 Unlock

    1 min read · 16 viva questions

  2. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    2 min

    Synopsis

    Abstract

    This study compares advertising recall and purchase intent for D2C skincare ads viewed in Instagram Reels-style and YouTube Shorts-style feeds among Gen-Z consumers. A counterbalanced within-subject experiment with about 120 participants measures unaided and aided brand recall immediately and after 24 hours, along with ad recognition, attitude toward the ad and purchase intent. Paired t-tests and McNemar tests compare platforms, and multiple regression examines predictors of purchase intent. The findings guide how agencies split short-video budgets and design creatives.

    Introduction

    Short-form vertical video has become the default format for reaching young Indian consumers, and D2C skincare brands depend heavily on it for discovery. Platforms report reach and engagement, but marketers also need memory-based outcomes. Advertising research has long used recall and recognition as measures of ad effectiveness; few studies have applied them to the short-video context in India, where viewers scroll quickly and ads blend with creator content.

    Literature gap

    Indian studies on social-media advertising mostly use self-reported surveys asking which platform respondents prefer. Survey designs cannot separate the effect of platform format from differences in ads and audiences. An experiment that holds the creative constant and varies only the platform frame isolates the format effect, and a delayed recall test shows whether the effect lasts.

    Proposed study

    • Build two mock feeds with identical clips and ads, varying only platform styling.
    • Measure immediate and delayed recall and purchase intent.
    • Compare platforms within participants and test predictors of purchase intent.
    • Translate findings into creative and budget guidance for the host agency.

    Feasibility

    • Operational: the agency supports creative production; participants are recruited from three Kolkata colleges and a coworking space with permission.
    • Technical: prototypes run in a phone browser; SPSS is in the institute lab.
    • Ethical: informed consent; participants are told the study concerns "short-video viewing" and are fully debriefed after the delayed test; no personal social-media accounts are accessed.
  3. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    1 min

    Problem statement

    The host agency allocates short-video budgets for D2C skincare clients between Reels and Shorts largely on dashboard metrics and habit. Clients increasingly ask whether people actually remember their brand after scrolling past an ad, and whether the platform makes a difference when the creative is the same. Platform metrics cannot answer this because audiences, algorithms and creatives all differ. The agency needs controlled evidence on whether the platform format affects immediate and delayed brand recall for the same ad among Gen-Z viewers, and whether recall translates into purchase intent, so that it can advise clients on budget split and creative adaptation.

  4. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    1 min

    Objectives & scope

    1. 01To compare unaided and aided brand recall for identical D2C skincare ads in Reels-style and Shorts-style feeds.
    2. 02To compare recall decay between immediate and 24-hour delayed tests across platforms.
    3. 03To compare ad recognition and attitude toward the ad across platforms.
    4. 04To examine whether recall, attitude toward the ad and creator credibility predict purchase intent.
    5. 05To check whether results differ by gender and daily short-video usage.
    6. 06To recommend creative and budget practices for the host agency.

    Scope

    The study covers Gen-Z participants aged 18–27 in Kolkata who use both Instagram and YouTube. It uses fictional skincare brands and mock feeds in a controlled setting, so it measures the effect of platform format, not each platform's real algorithm or targeting. Actual purchase behaviour is not observed. Results apply to short skincare ads and may differ for other categories or longer formats.

  5. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    2 min

    Methodology

    Research design

    Within-subject (repeated-measures) experiment with counterbalancing, plus a post-exposure questionnaire. Secondary review of ASCI's influencer advertising guidelines and the CCPA's 2022 guidelines on misleading advertisements and endorsements informs the ad disclosures.

    Stimuli

    • Four 15-second ads for fictional brands (two moisturisers, two sunscreens), produced in the same style, each with a visible "Ad" or "Paid partnership" label as the guidelines require.
    • Two mock feeds of ten clips each (eight neutral fillers from royalty-free sources plus two ads at positions 4 and 8), presented in Reels-style and Shorts-style interface frames on the same phone model.
    • Brand-to-platform assignment and platform order rotated across four groups (Latin-square style), so every brand appears equally often on each platform and in each order.

    Participants

    • n ≈ 120 (30 per group). G*Power for a paired t-test (dz = 0.30, α = 0.05, power 0.85) gives about 102; 120 allows for drop-out at the delayed test.
    • Recruitment by purposive sampling at three colleges and a coworking space; inclusion: age 18–27, uses both platforms weekly.

    Measures

    MeasureTimingScoring
    Unaided brand recallImmediate, 24 h1 if brand named correctly
    Aided recall (brand list with 6 distractors)Immediate, 24 h1 if correct brand ticked
    Ad recognition (still frames)ImmediateHits minus false alarms
    Attitude toward the ad (4 items, 7-point)ImmediateMean
    Creator credibility (3 items, 7-point)ImmediateMean
    Purchase intent (3 items, 7-point)Immediate, 24 hMean
    Daily short-video minutes, genderBefore viewingSelf-report

    Analysis

    1. Paired t-test on recall scores (sum across two ads per platform) and purchase intent: Reels vs Shorts.
    2. McNemar test on per-brand binary recall.
    3. Repeated-measures ANOVA (platform × time) for recall decay.
    4. Multiple regression: purchase intent on recall, attitude, credibility and platform dummy.
    5. Order-effect check: independent t-test comparing groups that saw each platform first.

    Timeline (8 weeks)

    WeekActivity
    1Agency orientation, literature, guidelines review
    2–3Ad and feed production, randomisation sheet, pilot (n = 12)
    4–5Experiment sessions and 24-hour follow-ups
    6Coding and SPSS analysis
    7Report and agency presentation
    8Final report, MB 303 presentation and viva
  6. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    1 min

    Architecture & tech stack

    • Within-subject exposure experiment (counterbalanced, n ≈ 120)
    • Mock short-video feeds built as clickable prototypes on phones
    • Google Forms (immediate and 24-hour delayed recall)
    • IBM SPSS Statistics (paired t-test, McNemar, multiple regression)
    • MS Excel (randomisation sheet, coding of unaided recall)
    • ASCI and CCPA advertising guidelines (secondary review)

    The experiment holds everything constant except the platform frame. The flowchart shows the participant flow and the analysis path.

    flowchart TD
  A["Agency question: Reels or Shorts for skincare ads?"] --> B["Stimuli: 4 fictional-brand ads, 2 mock feeds"]
  B --> C["Pilot n = 12: timing, realism check"]
  C --> D["Recruit n = 120, Gen-Z, both platforms"]
  D --> E["Random assignment to 4 counterbalanced groups"]
  E --> F["View feed 1, then feed 2"]
  F --> G["Immediate test: recall, recognition, attitude, intent"]
  G --> H["24-hour delayed recall and intent via form"]
  H --> I["Debrief participants"]
  G --> J["SPSS: paired t-test, McNemar"]
  H --> J
  J --> K["Repeated-measures ANOVA: platform x time"]
  K --> L["Regression: predictors of purchase intent"]
  L --> M["Creative and budget guidance for agency"]

    Why fictional brands

    Real brands carry prior awareness, so recall would reflect past exposure, not the experiment. Fictional brands with realistic names and packaging remove this confound. To keep the ads realistic, they follow the disclosure style used by Indian D2C brands, and the debrief explains that the brands do not exist.

    Threats to validity and controls

    Order effects (counterbalancing), brand effects (rotation), device effects (same phone model and volume), fatigue (feeds under three minutes each) and demand effects (cover story and debrief).

  7. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    5 modules

    Modules

    • Chapter 1 — Introduction and organisation profile

      Short-video advertising in India, the D2C skincare category, the host agency's services and the client question that led to the study.

    • Chapter 2 — Literature review and hypotheses

      Advertising memory (recall, recognition, decay), attitude toward the ad, source credibility, short-video and social-media advertising studies, disclosure guidelines, and hypotheses H1–H5.

    • Chapter 3 — Research methodology

      Within-subject design, stimuli production, counterbalancing scheme, participants and G*Power calculation, measures, procedure, ethics and debrief, analysis plan.

    • Chapter 4 — Results and interpretation

      Manipulation check, paired t-tests and McNemar results, recall decay ANOVA, regression on purchase intent, order-effect checks and subgroup comparisons.

    • Chapter 5 — Recommendations, learning and conclusion

      Guidance for the agency on budget split and creative adaptation per platform, limitations of a lab setting, future research and the student's internship learning.

  8. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    Locked

    Presentation

    12 slides with speaker notes. The outline below is free; the bullets, notes and the generated .pptx unlock with the project.

    1. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall for D2C Skincare
    2. Context
    3. Literature and gap
    4. Hypotheses
    5. Experimental design
    6. Stimuli
    7. Procedure and ethics
    8. Recall results
    9. Attitude and intent
    10. Robustness checks
    11. Recommendations for the agency
    12. Limitations, learning, future work

    Bullets, speaker notes and the .pptx download unlock with the project.

    Presentation is locked: 12 slides, Speaker notes, .pptx download.

    Unlock for ₹2,000
  9. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    Locked

    How to run

    A research, analysis or design project, so there's no code bundle: 10 steps to carry it out with Within-subject exposure experiment (counterbalanced, n ≈ 120), Mock short-video feeds built as clickable prototypes on phones and Google Forms (immediate and 24-hour delayed recall).

    The good part is behind this lock. Like every good viva answer.

    How to run is locked: 10 steps.

    Unlock for ₹2,000
  12. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    1 min

    Future scope

    A field version could run small paid campaigns for a real brand on both platforms with brand-lift surveys, testing whether lab results hold in live feeds. Future studies could vary ad length, creator versus brand voice, regional-language captions, or sound-on versus sound-off viewing, and could track actual search or website visits after exposure.

  13. Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment

    @reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

    7 sources

    References

    1. Advertising Standards Council of India — Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media
    2. Department of Consumer Affairs (CCPA) — Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022
    3. Scott B. MacKenzie, Richard J. Lutz and George E. Belch — The Role of Attitude Toward the Ad as a Mediator of Advertising Effectiveness, Journal of Marketing Research 23(2), 1986
    4. Roobina Ohanian — Construction and Validation of a Scale to Measure Celebrity Endorsers' Perceived Expertise, Trustworthiness, and Attractiveness, Journal of Advertising 19(3), 1990
    5. George E. Belch and Michael A. Belch — Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, McGraw Hill
    6. Andy Field — Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics, SAGE
    7. AICTE model curriculum (MAKAUT implementation) — MBA syllabus

    Cite this bundle

    OnlyProjects. (2026). Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall and Purchase Intent for D2C Skincare among Gen-Z, a Within-Subject Exposure Experiment: PGDM Digital Marketing project bundle [Educational resource]. https://onlyprojects.online/projects/pgdm-digital-marketing-reels-vs-shorts-ad-recall-d2c-skincare-gen-z

Slides, diagrams & files

12 slides. Titles are free; bullets, speaker notes and the .pptx unlock with the project.

  1. SLIDE 1

    Reels vs Shorts: Ad Recall for D2C Skincare

  2. SLIDE 2

    Context

  3. SLIDE 3

    Literature and gap

  4. SLIDE 4

    Hypotheses

  5. SLIDE 5

    Experimental design

  6. SLIDE 6

    Stimuli

  7. SLIDE 7

    Procedure and ethics

  8. SLIDE 8

    Recall results

  9. SLIDE 9

    Attitude and intent

  10. SLIDE 10

    Robustness checks

  11. SLIDE 11

    Recommendations for the agency

  12. SLIDE 12

    Limitations, learning, future work

Architecture diagram

1
flowchart TD
  A["Agency question: Reels or Shorts for skincare ads?"] --> B["Stimuli: 4 fictional-brand ads, 2 mock feeds"]
  B --> C["Pilot n = 12: timing, realism check"]
  C --> D["Recruit n = 120, Gen-Z, both platforms"]
  D --> E["Random assignment to 4 counterbalanced groups"]
  E --> F["View feed 1, then feed 2"]
  F --> G["Immediate test: recall, recognition, attitude, intent"]
  G --> H["24-hour delayed recall and intent via form"]
  H --> I["Debrief participants"]
  G --> J["SPSS: paired t-test, McNemar"]
  H --> J
  J --> K["Repeated-measures ANOVA: platform x time"]
  K --> L["Regression: predictors of purchase intent"]
  L --> M["Creative and budget guidance for agency"]

Files

Viva questions & answers

3 of 16 questions free. Explain each answer in your own words before you move on.

  1. Concept

    What is the difference between unaided recall, aided recall and recognition?

    Unaided recall asks the viewer to name brands they saw without any cue. Aided recall gives a list of brands including distractors and asks which were seen. Recognition shows the actual ad frames. They form a hierarchy from hardest to easiest memory test.

  2. Concept

    What is attitude toward the ad and why measure it?

    It is the viewer's overall liking of the ad itself, separate from the brand. Research by MacKenzie, Lutz and Belch showed it influences brand attitude and intent, so it may explain why one platform frame produces higher purchase intent than another.

  3. Concept

    Why measure recall after 24 hours?

    Immediate recall mostly reflects short-term memory and can exaggerate differences. Purchase decisions often happen later, so delayed recall shows whether the brand stayed in memory long enough to matter in a later search or store visit.

+13 more questions

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