Definition
Share of Voice (SOV) is a metric that represents a brand’s portion of total advertising or communication within a defined market, channel, or category over a given period. It answers the question: “Of all the messages out there in this space, how much is ours?”
In marketing, SOV is used to gauge how dominant or present a brand is in paid or earned communication relative to competitors. It is a core input in brand-building and media planning, often compared with Share of Market (SOM) to understand whether a brand is underinvesting, keeping pace, or “over-speaking” relative to its size.
How Share of Voice (SOV) relates to marketing
SOV sits at the intersection of brand strategy, media planning, and competitive intelligence:
- It is used by media teams to determine whether a brand is investing enough to sustain or grow brand equity.
- It helps brand and category managers understand how visible they are compared with competitors in a specific channel (e.g., TV, paid search, social) or across all paid media.
- It informs decisions about whether to increase spend, shift channels, or change the balance between brand and performance activity.
A sustained SOV higher than SOM is often associated with market share growth over time, especially in brand-led categories with significant above-the-line investment.
How to calculate Share of Voice (SOV)
There are several variants of SOV depending on the data source. The core formula is:
Share of Voice (SOV) = (Brand’s advertising or presence ÷ Total category advertising or presence) × 100
Common approaches:
Spend-based SOV
Used when you have media spend data:
SOV = (Brand media spend ÷ Total category media spend) × 100
Example:
Brand A spends $2M on media in a quarter, while the category spends $20M.
SOV = (2M ÷ 20M) × 100 = 10%
Impression-based SOV
Used when you have impression or GRP data:
SOV = (Brand impressions or GRPs ÷ Total category impressions or GRPs) × 100
Example:
Brand B delivers 150M impressions; the category delivers 1B impressions.
SOV = (150M ÷ 1B) × 100 = 15%
Channel-specific SOV
You can narrow the denominator by channel:
- TV SOV, Paid Search SOV, Social SOV, etc.
- Same formula, but total is for that channel only.
SOV vs. SOM “gap”
Marketers frequently look at the difference between SOV and SOM:
SOV–SOM Gap = SOV − SOM
- Positive gap (>0): brand is communicating more than its current market share suggests; often interpreted as growth-seeking or challenger behavior.
- Negative gap (<0): brand is under-weight in communication relative to its market share; potentially at risk over time.
How to utilize Share of Voice (SOV)
SOV is used in several practical marketing scenarios:
Media strategy and budget setting
- Determine whether your brand is investing enough versus key competitors.
- Set a target SOV, especially in brand-building channels, relative to growth goals.
- Decide where to concentrate spend (e.g., one channel with high SOV versus thin presence everywhere).
Brand growth and maintenance
- Use SOV–SOM comparison as a directional indicator for market share trajectory:
- SOV > SOM over time often correlates with market share growth.
- SOV < SOM over time can correlate with decline or stagnation.
- Track SOV alongside brand metrics (awareness, consideration, preference) to understand the impact of communication weight.
Competitive monitoring
- Identify aggressive moves by competitors when their SOV spikes.
- Detect white space where competitors are quiet in certain channels or segments.
- Reassess media mix when a rival takes a dominant SOV position in a key channel.
Channel optimization
- Compare SOV across channels versus performance outcomes:
- High SOV and low business impact may suggest inefficiency, misalignment, or creative issues.
- Modest SOV with strong business impact may indicate a channel where you can profitably invest more.
Comparison to similar approaches and metrics
| Metric | What it Measures | Basis | Primary Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of Voice (SOV) | Brand’s share of communication in a market or channel | Spend, impressions, GRPs | Media planning, competitive spend/visibility assessment |
| Share of Market (SOM) | Brand’s share of category sales or volume | Revenue, units | Business performance, category position |
| Share of Search | Brand’s share of category-related search queries | Search query volume | Interest and consideration proxy, early demand signals |
| Impression Share | Percentage of eligible ad impressions captured (often search) | Biddable media auctions | Performance media efficiency and coverage |
| Share of Shelf | Share of physical or digital display presence vs category | Facings, slots, listings | Retail execution, merchandising |
| Brand Awareness | Proportion of audience aware of the brand | Surveys, brand tracking | Brand salience and recognition |
| Reach | Number or proportion of people exposed at least once | Impressions + frequency | Campaign audience coverage |
| Frequency | Average number of exposures per person reached | Impressions / reach | Managing contact levels to avoid waste or underexposure |
SOV is about how loud you are relative to the category. SOM and other demand-side metrics show what you got back in terms of business and brand outcomes.
Best practices
- Define the category and competitor set clearly
Ensure the “total” in your SOV calculation reflects the right competitive frame:- Same product or service category.
- Same geography and timeframe.
- Relevant channels (e.g., do not mix global TV spend with local digital only).
- Use consistent data sources over time
SOV trends are more useful than single snapshots. Use the same measurement sources and definitions so you can compare quarter-on-quarter or year-on-year without guessing what changed. - Segment SOV by channel and audience where possible
- Track total SOV plus channel-level SOV (TV, online video, search, social, OOH, etc.).
- Where data allows, view SOV by target segments or key markets to spot underinvestment pockets.
- Pair SOV with outcome metrics
SOV by itself does not guarantee effectiveness. Combine with:- Brand tracking (awareness, consideration, preference).
- Commercial outcomes (SOM, penetration, revenue, margins).
- Efficiency indicators (cost per incremental point of awareness, etc.).
- Factor in creative quality and distinctiveness
Two brands can have the same SOV but very different impact:- Track distinctive brand asset recognition.
- Evaluate creative effectiveness through pre-testing or in-market experiments.
- Plan for sustainable SOV levels
Short-term SOV spikes (e.g., for launches) can be useful but may fade without a sustainable base level. Align SOV targets with long-term brand strategy and budget realities.
Future trends
- More granular, real-time SOV tracking
As programmatic and digital channels expand, SOV measurement is increasingly:- Near real-time instead of monthly or quarterly.
- Segmented by micro-audiences, contexts, and even creative variants.
- Blending paid, owned, and earned signals
Traditional SOV has focused on paid. Marketers are combining:- Paid SOV (media spend or impressions).
- Social and PR presence.
- Search share and website visibility.
This leads to broader “Share of Attention” or “Share of Conversation” frameworks.
- AI-assisted competitive intelligence
AI-driven tools are being used to:- Detect brand presence across channels using creative recognition.
- Estimate competitor SOV where spend data is incomplete.
- Link SOV to modeled business outcomes more accurately.
- From volume to quality-adjusted SOV
Future SOV measures are likely to account for:- Viewability and attention (e.g., attentive seconds, view-through rates).
- Contextual fit and audience quality.
Rather than treating every impression as equal, SOV may evolve toward a weighted measure calibrated to actual attention.
Related Terms
- Share of Market (SOM)
- Share of Search
- Impression Share
- Brand Awareness
- Media Mix
- Gross Rating Points (GRPs)
- Reach and Frequency
- Competitive Benchmarking
- Brand Equity
- Challenger Brand