What is share of voice (SOV) in marketing?
Share of voice is your brand's share of all advertising in its category. Here are the formulas for paid, search and social SOV, what excess share of voice means for growth, a worked SAR example and the pitfalls.
Share of voice (SOV) is your brand's share of all advertising in a category and market over a period, usually measured as your media spend divided by total category media spend. Comparing it with your share of market shows whether your advertising is set up to grow the brand or to let it shrink over time.
How do you calculate share of voice?
Nielsen defines a brand's share of voice as its media spending "expressed as a percentage of all media expenditures in the category." Digital teams also use narrower versions:
| Type | Formula |
|---|---|
| Paid media SOV | Your media spend ÷ total category media spend × 100 |
| Search SOV | Impression share: your impressions ÷ total eligible impressions |
| Social SOV | Your brand mentions ÷ all category brand mentions × 100 |
The search formula is Google's definition of impression share, where eligible impressions are an estimate.
Why share of voice matters
The gap between share of voice and share of market (SOM) is called excess share of voice (ESOV). Nielsen's 2009 analysis found that "on average, a 10 point difference between SOV and SOM leads to 0.5% of extra market share growth." Nielsen suggested the norm for setting targets for fast-moving consumer goods brands and noted large variances across categories and brands.
Share of voice example
An illustrative Saudi brand spends SAR 6 million a year in a category where all brands spend SAR 50 million. Its SOV is 12%. Its market share is 8%, so its ESOV is +4 points. On Nielsen's average norm, that points to roughly 0.2 points of extra share growth, a direction rather than a forecast.
Pitfalls
- Competitor spend is estimated, so use the same source and method every time.
- Define the category and market tightly, or the denominator means nothing.
- Social mentions and paid SOV measure different things. Don't mix them.
Related terms
See reach and total addressable market.
How Grower helps
Grower's AI marketing planner covers the market and competitive landscape with competitor intelligence. Its budgets, by month, quarter or year, are compared against live spend from connected channels.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good share of voice?
There is no single target. The useful comparison is with your own market share. A share of voice above your share of market, positive ESOV, is associated with growth in Nielsen's analysis, while a share below it is associated with decline. Category, brand size and creative quality all change how strong that link is.
What is excess share of voice (ESOV)?
Excess share of voice is share of voice minus share of market. A brand with 15% of category advertising and 10% of category sales has an ESOV of +5 points. A positive figure means the brand is advertising above its weight. A negative figure means competitors are outspending it relative to its size.
How do you measure competitors' share of voice?
Estimate competitor spend or impressions from a consistent source, such as a media monitoring service, ad transparency libraries or search impression share data. No method is exact, so the trend matters more than the absolute number. Use the same source, market and period each quarter so changes reflect real shifts, not method changes.
Work out the budget it would take to reach your target share of voice with the marketing budget calculator, or book a Grower demo.