Three measurements under one name
- Paid share of voice: share of category advertising spend or impressions. The original meaning, used in media planning.
- Earned share of voice: share of editorial mentions in a defined media set.
- Social share of voice: share of mentions in social conversation. The noisiest, and sensitive to how mentions are counted.
The formula
Excess share of voice
Excess share of voice (ESOV) is the gap between a brand’s share of voice and its market share. Widely cited advertising effectiveness research finds that brands whose share of voice exceeds their market share tend to grow, and those below it tend to decline.
It is a tendency across many brands, not a guarantee for one, and the effect differs by category. Use it as a planning heuristic.
Share of voice vs share of search
- Share of voice is an input: what a brand and its competitors put into the market.
- Share of search is a response: what people did afterwards.
Read together, they become useful: rising share of voice with flat share of search says the spend is not turning into demand. Listening and media monitoring tools measure the voice; demand data measures the response.
Common mistakes
- The category set decides the number. Adding or removing one large competitor moves every share.
- Mentions are not equal. A critical and a positive mention count the same unless sentiment is measured separately.
- Spend is not attention. Paid share of voice measures what was bought, not what was seen.
How Rascasse uses it
Rascasse does not measure share of voice. It measures the response side, share of search, per country and category, updated quarterly with up to ten years of history, so the two can be set side by side.
Related use cases: Share of Search & Market Share, Competitive Intelligence, Media Planning.