Share of Voice Across Channels
Share of voice is calculated differently depending on the channel being measured. In paid advertising, SOV is typically calculated as a brand’s impressions divided by total category impressions across all competitors. In paid search, Google Ads reports impression share, which is the percentage of eligible impressions a campaign actually received out of the total available for its targeting criteria. In social media, SOV measures a brand’s mentions divided by total category mentions across platforms. In earned media and press, SOV counts a brand’s media mentions or article placements relative to the total across all competitors in the category. Each channel-specific SOV metric measures a different slice of presence and must be interpreted in the context of that channel’s role in the buyer journey.
Excess share of voice (eSOV) is the concept, originally developed by Nielsen, that describes the gap between a brand’s share of voice and its share of market. Research across multiple categories shows that brands with SOV higher than their market share tend to grow market share over time, while brands with SOV below their market share tend to lose it. This relationship suggests that SOV investment can be understood as a leading indicator of market share trajectory, giving marketers a forward-looking view of competitive positioning beyond current-period revenue metrics.
Using Share of Voice in Planning
SOV data informs media planning by revealing gaps between a brand’s current presence and the presence needed to maintain or grow market share. Categories with highly fragmented competitor media spend, where no single brand dominates, present opportunities to build presence without proportionally large budgets by focusing on channels where share is most concentrated and achievable. Categories where one or two brands dominate SOV require higher investment to build meaningful share or a strategy of targeting sub-segments and channels where the dominant brands’ presence is thinner.
Tracking SOV over time alongside share of market validates whether marketing investment is producing the competitive presence needed to support growth objectives. Brands that increase SOV but do not see corresponding market share gains over a 12 to 24 month horizon should investigate whether their messaging, targeting, or media mix is generating awareness among the right buyer segments or simply producing impressions without the relevance and memorability needed to influence purchase consideration and decision.
Share of voice reporting should be part of the standard competitive intelligence routine for any marketing team operating in a category with defined competitors and measurable media spending. Monthly or quarterly SOV reviews that track changes in competitor share alongside changes in the brand’s own spending and presence provide an early warning system for shifts in competitive dynamics that may require a strategic response before they affect sales pipeline or revenue. The combination of SOV data with brand tracking survey results creates a complete picture of both how much a brand is being heard in the market and whether that presence is translating into the awareness and consideration that drive long-term growth.
Organizations that approach this discipline with clearly defined objectives, measurable success criteria, and a structured review cadence consistently outperform those that treat it as a tactical activity without strategic context. Establishing baseline metrics before launch, reviewing performance against those baselines on a regular schedule, and documenting lessons learned after each campaign cycle creates a foundation for continuous improvement that compounds over time. This approach builds institutional knowledge that persists even as team members change and market conditions shift in ways that require program adaptation.
Regular reporting and review cadences transform individual metrics into strategic intelligence. A metric reviewed in isolation tells a limited story. The same metric reviewed alongside related indicators, segmented by audience or channel, and compared to prior periods reveals patterns that inform decisions about where to allocate budget and which creative or offer approaches to scale. Marketing teams that build this analytical discipline into their operating rhythm consistently outperform those that review metrics only when performance problems have become severe enough to trigger concern from leadership.
Sources
- Nielsen. (2024). Share of Voice and Market Share Relationship. Nielsen Holdings. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/share-of-voice
- WARC. (2024). Share of Voice and Business Growth. WARC Ltd. https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/2023-q4-share-of-voice-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters
- Google Ads Help. (2024). Impression Share. Google LLC. https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2497703
- Brandwatch. (2024). Share of Voice in Social Listening. Brandwatch Inc. https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/share-of-voice/
- Kantar. (2024). Media Planning and Share of Voice. Kantar Group. https://www.kantar.com
- Binet, L. and Field, P. (2013). The Long and the Short of It. IPA.
- Millward Brown. (2022). The Empirical Laws of Advertising. Kantar Group. https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/the-empirical-laws-of-advertising
- Semrush. (2024). Share of Voice SEO Tracking. Semrush Inc. https://www.semrush.com/blog/share-of-voice-how-to-increase/
- Dentsu. (2024). Media Effectiveness Report. Dentsu International. https://www.dentsu.com/news-releases/dentsu-forecasts-2024-global-ad-spend-to-grow
- HubSpot Research. (2024). Competitive Analysis in Marketing. HubSpot Inc. https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
Written by the My Marketing File editorial team. Updated June 2024.