Definition
Share of Voice (SOV) in advertising quantifies the relative communication presence that a specific brand or product achieves. It is most commonly calculated as a percentage of category media spend, impressions, or gross rating points. For example:
Share of Voice (%) = [Impressions of Brand (#) / Total Impressions of all Brands in Category (#)] X 100
A broader interpretation could expand the concept beyond advertising. One such expansion is the use of output measures like mentions. In this case, share of voice would represent the proportion of the category discussion that the brand achieves. For example, if a brand receives 500 mentions and the total mentions across all brands are 1,000, the SOV is 50% (i.e. 500/1000*100 = 50%).
See Also
Market share
Share of requirements
Share of shelf
Share of wallet
References
- Universal Marketing Dictionary Project, 2026.