Share of Voice vs. Share of Market: How to leverage both for brand growth in 2025

Brands investing in excess share of voice (eSOV) see an average 8.7% growth in market share (WARC, 2024). Brand strategists and marketing managers must strike a balance between short-term performance and long-term brand development.

Two of the most valuable measurements that play a crucial role in this balancing act are share of voice (SOV) vs. Share of Market (SOM).

While both are essential metrics, they gauge two key aspects of a brand’s performance. Understanding how they communicate can give deep insights into a brand’s trajectory, market position, and potential future.

This guide explores SOV and SOM, their correlation, and strategies for leveraging them to outperform competitors.

What is Share of Voice (SOV) in marketing?

Share of voice refers to the percentage of total advertising or media presence a brand enjoys relative to its competitors.

It is not a measure of sales, but one that gets noticed, showing how distinct your brand’s “voice” is in the marketplace.
Formula

SOV (Total Industry Advertising or Media Spend/Brand’s Advertising or Media Spend​)×100

Types of SOV

Share of voice was formerly associated with paid advertising expenditure; SOV today encompasses broader media coverage of:

1. Paid media: Television, radio, online, print ads.
2. Earned media: Media relations coverage, social mentions (organic), backlinks.
3. Owned media: Your company blog, email newsletters, and social media accounts.
4. Search SOV: Percentage of search engine results pages (SERPs) your brand holds versus competitors.

Importance:

1. Defines how prominent your brand is in the marketplace.
2. Increased SOV increases brand awareness and recall.
3. Helps identify how your brand resides in a crowded media landscape.

How Share of Voice affects Share of Market: Key insights

Share of Market (or Market Share) is the percentage of total sales in an industry or category that your brand controls. In contrast to SOV, SOM indicates real business performance and revenue generation.

Formula: SOM=(Brand’s Sales Revenue\Total Market Sales Revenue)×100

Dimensions of SOM:

• Revenue market share: Share of total dollar sales.
• Volume market share: Share of total units sold.
• Customer market share: Share of customers in the category.

Importance:

• Reflects the brand’s real-world business impact.
• Helps in benchmarking performance against competitors.
• Drives business valuation, investor confidence, and growth planning.

The relationship between SOV and SOM

The firm and prescriptive relationship between Share of Voice (SOV) and Share of Market (SOM) is at the heart of modern brand strategy.

The interplay measures both current market presence and future growth potential. The SOV-to-SOM ratio is a convenient measure that often determines whether a brand is poised to grow, maintain, or lose market share.

The underlying principle, made famous by marketing effectiveness researchers Les Binet and Peter Field, is that when a brand’s SOV surpasses its SOM (SOV > SOM), it will experience long-term market share growth.

Increased media coverage drives awareness, recall, and mental availability, all of which enhance the probability of purchase when customers are ready to make a purchase.

The SOV-SOM difference is also referred to as the excess share of voice (eSOV) and is a leading indicator of future performance. Let’s assume brand A has:

• SOV: 25%
• SOM: 15%

This indicates that Brand A is punching above its weight in terms of visibility, creating awareness and consideration that could ultimately lead to increased sales. In the long term, it is hoped that the SOM will catch up with the SOV. Let’s now consider Brand B:

• SOV: 10%
• SOM: 20%

Brand B is underinvesting in visibility relative to its current market leadership and is therefore a target for more ambitious competitors.

Strategic marketing implications of share of voice vs share of market

Understanding the interplay between Share of Voice (SOV) and Share of Market (SOM) has significant implications for strategic marketing, budget allocation, and long-term brand planning.

1. Brand growth planning: Utilizing the SOV-SOM gap enables marketers to allocate budgets more effectively. Brands with low SOM but high SOV can expect future growth, while those with high SOM but low SOV may need to defend their position with increased media investment.

2. Competitive benchmarking: Monitoring SOV and SOM across competitors helps you:

• Identify who is investing in growth.
• Spot potential market disruptors.
• Benchmark your visibility against others.

3. Media budget optimization: The “excess share of voice” (eSOV) is most critical in budgeting:

• eSOV=SOV−SOM
• Positive eSOV tends to lead to market share gains. eSOV +10% is typically the aim for regular SOM growth.

4. Category life cycle considerations:

• Mature markets: Loyalty to the brand is higher, and it could be expensive to switch SOM. SOV investment must be selective.
• Emerging markets: The SOV–SOM elasticity is greater; brand awareness has a strong influence on purchasing behavior.

5. Short-term vs long-term effect: SOV is a leading indicator (what is to be), while SOM is a lagging indicator (what has been). Long-term, consistent SOV investing will mold SOM growth, but not in the short term.

Common pitfalls when managing SOV and SOM

While recognizing and capitalizing on Share of Voice (SOV) and Share of Market (SOM) will unlock growth, most brands fall into common strategic errors that limit effectiveness.

1. Equating SOV with SOM: One of the most frequent mistakes is assuming that high SOV necessarily translates into increased market share. SOV is latent; it is visibility, not behavior. Without impactful creative, timely messaging, and well-defined targeting, even a massive media presence will not likely result in sales. Visibility without value does not produce loyalty or conversion.
2. Failing to account for organic and earned SOV: Focusing on paid media alone gives an incomplete picture of brand visibility. Consumers now interact with brands across multiple touchpoints. Organic search results, social media discussion, PR coverage, user-generated content, and influencer chatter all contribute to how “visible” and effective a brand truly is.
3. Seeking SOV without a brand strategy: Elevating media spend to gain SOV is a poor strategy unless an integrated brand strategy supports it. Without positioning, emotional resonance, and value distinction, additional SOV can only amplify a struggling message.

Tools to measure and optimize SOV and SOM

Here’s a direct breakdown of the best tools to measure and optimize Share of Voice (SOV) and Share of Market (SOM), along with how they are used.

1. Tools to measure and optimize Share of Voice (SOV)

SOV tracks your brand’s visibility compared to competitors across key channels (media, digital, ads, social, etc.).
a. SEMrush / Ahrefs / Similarweb

• What for: Digital and SEO SOV
• Features: Tracks organic and paid keyword rankings, backlinks, traffic share
• Use: Compare how much search visibility you have versus competitors

b. Brandwatch / Sprinklr / Talkwalker

• What for: Social media SOV
• Features: Tracks mentions, sentiment, and engagement across platforms
• Use: Measures brand conversations relative to others in your space

c. Google Ads / Meta Ads Manager

• What for: Paid advertising SOV
• Features: Impression share, ad position, and competitor ad visibility
• Use: Tracks how often your ads appear compared to others for the same audience

d. Meltwater / Cision

• What for: PR/media SOV
• Features: Tracks media coverage across news, blogs, and press
• Use: Understand your media exposure compared to competitors

2. Tools to measure and optimize Share of Market (SOM)

SOM tracks your actual revenue or sales volume versus the total available market.
a. Statista / IBISWorld / MarketResearch.com

• What for: Industry and market data
• Features: Reports on total market size by sector, region, or product type
• Use: Helps calculate your market share relative to industry totals

b. CRM Tools (e.g., HubSpot, Salesforce)

• What for: Internal sales data
• Features: Tracks your company’s total sales volume and trends
• Use: Combine your sales figures with market data to calculate SOM

c. Power BI / Tableau / Google Looker Studio

• What for: Data visualization and performance dashboards
• Features: Merges sales, customer, and market data
• Use: Helps track growth trends and compare against market benchmarks

d. NielsenIQ / Kantar

• What for: Retail, FMCG, and B2C product market share
• Features: Retail scanner data, consumer panels, competitive sales tracking
• Use: Quantifies market position with access to broader retail data

Real‑world example: Coca‑Cola vs Pepsi – Overwhelming with share of voice and market share

Coca‑Cola has consistently outspent PepsiCo on advertising, achieving a much higher Share of Voice (SOV).

This media dominance, achieved through television, global sponsorships, influencer campaigns, and promotions like “Share a Coke,” has kept Coke top of mind worldwide. In 2023, Coca‑Cola held about 44% of the U.S. carbonated soft drink market, compared to Pepsi’s 25%.

Coca-Cola controls around 50% of the global beverage market, while Pepsi controls about 20%. Coke’s sustained ad spending and visibility have translated into long-term Share of Market (SOM) leadership, in line with the Binet–Field principle: higher SOV drives higher SOM. Pepsi, with lower ad spend and visibility, remains behind.

Monitoring and analyzing share of voice (SOV) and share of market (SOM)

Marketers can make informed decisions by monitoring and analyzing SOV and SOM. To monitor SOV, tools like Google Alerts, Cision, Meltwater, and Brandwatch are ideal for media monitoring.

For measuring search engine share, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SimilarWeb are suitable options. Social media listening platforms, such as Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and Talkwalker, offer real-time social visibility and engagement.

Market research firms such as Nielsen, Euromonitor, and Statista can be utilized to analyze SOM. Internal sales figures can also be utilized, benchmarked against industry standards, or compared to third-party aggregators’ retail audit figures for a comprehensive analysis.

Voice meets value: Mastering the SOV–SOM balance

It is essential to grasp the interplay between Share of Voice (SOV) and Share of Market (SOM) to achieve sustainable brand growth. While SOV captures how loudly a brand is heard in the market, SOM demonstrates how effectively that message translates into tangible business results.

Savvy marketers recognize that striking a balance between the two, supported by facts, responsible media expenditure, and compelling brand storytelling, is the key to outperforming others in their own game.

Measure your voice. Own your market. Start optimizing your SOV-SOM strategy now.

FAQ

Q. 1 What is the major difference between share of market (SOM) and share of voice (SOV)?

SOV is the amount of attention or media presence a brand gets within a category, while SOM is the revenue or sales the brand gains from that category. SOV is attention, and SOM is action.

Q. 2 How does share of voice affect share of market?

There is a strong correlation between SOV and SOM. A brand with higher SOV than SOM (“excess share of voice”) will likely grow its market share in the long run. However, that is not a given; the quality of creative work, product-market fit, and other factors also play a role.

Q. 3 How often should I keep track of SOV and SOM?

• SOV can be tracked monthly or quarterly, especially for web and media advertising.
• SOM is typically tracked quarterly or annually, based on sales cycles and market reports.

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