Apple has again proven its dominance in the global mobile device market; it now has a huge 51% share of voice (SOV) in programmatic advertising. In simpler terms, this means that more than half of all mobile ads are being shown on Apple devices, a 6% increase from last year.
But what exactly is SOV? It’s a way to measure a brand’s market visibility and presence compared to its competitors. SOV can include various metrics, like advertising spend, social media mentions, search engine rankings, and website traffic.
In the case of programmatic advertising, SOV means the percentage of total advertising impressions or spending that a brand captures. Apple’s 51% SOV means that more than half of all mobile programmatic ads are being shown on Apple devices.
On the other hand, Samsung saw its slice of the pie shrink from 17% to 16% over the past year. Huawei also experienced a decline, with its share dropping from 6.9% to 6.3%. Xiaomi, which peaked at 8% market share earlier this year, fell to 5.9% in the second quarter of 2024.
For advertisers looking to reach a wide audience, targeting Apple devices has become more important than ever. People are also more likely to engage with ads on Apple devices, making them even more attractive to advertisers.
Personal take: When you look at the numbers, 51% is huge; it almost feels too good to be true, which makes you wonder why is it, why are more than half of the ads being shown on Apple devices. One of the reasons that I can think of is that Androids are highly customizable. Hence, there are several ways to block ads. One can spoof an app and use it ad-free without paying a single dime. I’ve seen people using all the premium features of an app for free. But now that Apple is bringing the Thanos-snap in Safari, things might be different, even though it is not an ad blocker.