[UPDATE: This was first published in 2009. I thought I’d update it for 2020, but it’s perfectly timely again. Didn’t change a thing.]

You hear a lot of people talking about how stupid it is to stop advertising during a recession. They recount how so many businesses stayed the course and came out the other side with increased market share.

Question: Were they just better equipped to weather the storm, or did their advertising work better during the downturn?

Share of Voice:

The percentage of total ad messages in your business category that are YOURS.

If your competitors are cutting back (or belly up) you can actually get a boost in the effectiveness of your advertising because your Share of Voice just got bigger.

The Advertising Performance Equation accounts for how your market share relates back to the Share of Voice that you’ve purchased through your advertising. All things being equal, if you have fewer competitors barking on the airwaves, your ad will do a better job of “branding” your business in the minds of consumers as the first place they think of and feel best about, when the need for your product or service arises.

Advertising Performance Equation explained

You see, Share of Mind, is the result of your Share of Voice times the Impact Quotient, or level of effectiveness of your message. Couple a powerful message with an increased Share of Voice and something magical starts to happen. If you don’t fritter away this advantage by delivering a below-average customer experience, increased market share is sure to follow. It’s all in the math.

It’s not simply that your competitors have left a void in the market, but they’ve left a void in the minds of their customers.

Will you step up and fill that void?

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