Decision to take a quantitative approach towards the research was taken as it was felt that participants would find it difficult to explain an auditory stimuli. A survey was created (with referring to questionnaires like Attrakdiff and Look brand traits) to get answers for the research questions and to distribute it to bigger audience – sample size considered was n=180, with 60 participants in each of the 3 groups (between study design). The groups were different from each other with respect to the type of sound stimuli exposed to. Each group was further divided into 3 cohorts. The cohorts were different from each other with respect to whether they have subscribed to the digital application or not (application for which the different sound stimuli were made). Fair mix was also ensured across gender (18-60+), geography (Tier 1 and 2 PAN India cities), devices used to access the digital application and usage duration for the digital application. 

 

There were 4 sections of the survey. 

 

The first section was introductory section and was more like a screener to recruit the relevant audience cohorts. 

 

Section two was related to asking questions around the relation with the digital application - brand personality of the application (Looka questionnaire) and measuring the user experience (using Attrakdiff scale) for the product. 

 

Section three was related to exploring the different auditory concepts around brand recall. Questions asked were: a) In what situations do you think sound is helpful to you (MCQ)?, b) Can you recall the applications on which you may have heard sounds (MCQ)?, c) Asking respondents to arrange the different auditory stimulus in order of most to least resemblance to the product, d) Based on which 5 of the brand personality traits (Looka) the respondents arranged the auditory stimulus in c), e) For a particular group of auditory stimulus the following rating scale questions were asked:

 

• Group-1/MOGO sound: I would like to hear this sound every time I open the application - (7scale Likert)

• Group-2/Notification sound: The sound you selected is alerting – (7scale Likert) [DB7] 

• Group-2/Notification sound: I would like to have a distinct notification sound for the product – (7scale Likert) 

• Group-2/Notification sound: I change my phone’s notification settings - (7scale Likert)

• Group-3/Payment success sound: The sound I selected depicts completion/success - (7scale Likert)

 

Section four was related to asking questions around impact of sound on user experience. Questions asked were around measuring the user experience (using Attrakdiff scale) for the application when different auditory stimulus is included in the application (presented to the respondents in section three of the survey). Also, a final question was asked around whether the respondents would like to hear the different auditory stimulus in the application itself and the reasons behind it. 

 

The survey was created in a digital format and was filled by the participants in the presence of researchers. The researchers were present with the participants to address any questions, a participant may have. At a time, 2-3 participants (along with 2-3 researchers) were filling the survey in different rooms. Also, the survey was created in English and Hindi languages. For Hindi language, the Attrakdiff and Looka brand personality traits were also translated to Hindi.