Key Takeaways
- More than 70% of marketers reported increased budgets, but 67.1% say they are expected to do more with less.
- Economic pressure and budget cuts are the biggest threat facing marketers in 2026.
- Martech is the most common area of budget reductions, but also one of the top areas marketers want to invest in.
- AI remains a top investment priority, yet marketers are equally focused on maintaining brand differentiation.
- Revenue and ROI are now the leading measures of marketing success, driving greater scrutiny of every marketing investment.
Budgets are growing, but pressure isn’t disappearing.
Marketing leaders are being asked to drive revenue, improve efficiency, adopt AI, and prove ROI simultaneously. While economic uncertainty continues to shape decision-making, the data suggests marketers aren’t pulling back on investment altogether. Instead, they’re becoming far more deliberate about where budget goes—and what it needs to deliver in return.
Based on responses from over 500 marketers, our latest research from the 2026 Customer Engagement Report reveals how marketing organizations are reallocating spend, where they’re pulling back, and where they’re doubling down.
The State of Marketing Budgets Today
Despite widespread narratives about shrinking marketing budgets, most organizations are still investing. The real story isn’t budget reduction—it’s budget scrutiny.
Has Marketing Budget Increased, Decreased, or Stayed the Same in the Last 12 Months?
More than 70% of marketers reported increased budgets over the past year, while only 6% reported decreases.
| Increased significantly (15% or more) | 18.6% |
| Increased slightly (1–14%) | 52.3% |
| Stayed the same | 23.0% |
| Decreased slightly (1–14%) | 5.1% |
| Decreased significantly (15% or more) | 1.0% |
At first glance, this may seem at odds with broader industry conversations about budget constraints. But the data suggests marketing organizations are not in retreat—they’re in recalibration.
Investment is continuing. Growth initiatives are still being funded. Marketing leaders are still finding room in their budgets for new technologies, new channels, and new programs. The difference is that spending decisions are facing greater scrutiny than they did a few years ago.
In other words, marketers aren’t necessarily spending less. They’re being asked to spend smarter.
Are Marketing Teams Expected to Do More With Less Than They Were Two Years Ago?
While budgets may be increasing, expectations are increasing even faster. More than two-thirds of marketers say their teams are expected to do more with less budget and fewer people than they were two years ago.
| True | 67.1% |
| False | 32.9% |
Organizations are still investing, but that investment isn’t translating into relief from performance pressure. Teams are expected to move faster, personalize more effectively, demonstrate clearer ROI, and adopt new technologies—all while maximizing efficiency.
Taken together, these findings point to a defining characteristic of marketing in 2026: Budget growth hasn’t eliminated resource pressure. Marketing teams are being asked to generate more impact per dollar than ever before.
The Biggest Pressures and Threats Facing Marketers
If budgets aren’t collapsing, why do marketers still feel under pressure? The answer becomes clear when looking at the challenges marketers believe will shape the next two years.
What Is the Single Biggest Threat to Effective Marketing in the Next 12–24 Months?
Economic pressure remains the top concern among marketers, but it’s far from the only one.
| Economic pressure and budget cuts | 24.6% |
| Rapid advancement of technology | 22.6% |
| AI-generated content creating lack of differentiation | 21.8% |
| Privacy regulations limiting targeting | 12.7% |
| Consumer distrust of brands | 10.7% |
| Talent shortages | 7.7% |
Nearly one-quarter of marketers identified economic pressure and budget cuts as the biggest threat to effective marketing.
What’s particularly interesting is what came next. Rapid technological change ranked almost equally high, followed closely by concerns that AI-generated content could make brands harder to differentiate.
This suggests marketers are not primarily worried about AI replacing jobs. They’re worried about keeping pace with change, maintaining competitive differentiation, and proving business impact in an increasingly scrutinized environment.
Viewed together, the data suggests that marketers increasingly see adaptability, efficiency, and measurable performance as competitive advantages.
Where Has Marketing Budget Been Cut the Most in the Last 12 Months?
The budget pressures marketers describe are already influencing spending decisions. When asked where budgets had been cut most over the past year, respondents pointed to technology, media, and external resources before internal headcount.
| Marketing tools and software | 20.2% |
| Paid advertising | 18.0% |
| Agency or contractor fees | 17.6% |
| Events and sponsorships | 16.8% |
| Headcount / team size | 14.7% |
| Content creation and creative production | 12.7% |
More marketers reported cutting marketing tools and software (20.2%) than any other budget category, making martech consolidation the most common spending reduction in the survey. Paid media and agency spend followed closely behind.
Marketing leaders appear to be protecting internal teams and core execution capabilities while reducing spending on fragmented software, external partners, and lower-priority investments.
This doesn’t necessarily signal reduced confidence in technology. Instead, it suggests organizations are becoming more selective about which tools and vendors deserve continued investment.
As economic pressure increases, every platform, agency relationship, and budget line item must justify its value.
Where Marketers Want Budget to Come and Go
While economic pressure is forcing tougher spending decisions, marketers are equally clear about where they believe budget should be reallocated. The data suggests that marketing leaders aren’t looking to reduce investment. They’re looking to redirect it.
If Teams Could Save Marketing Budget on One Thing, What Would It Be?
When asked where they would cut spending if given the opportunity, marketers pointed to a mix of channels, technology, and external resources.
| Influencer marketing | 19.6% |
| Marketing technology stack (martech) | 18.6% |
| Events and sponsorships | 16.2% |
| Programmatic/display advertising | 15.8% |
| Paid social advertising | 15.4% |
| Agency retainers | 14.3% |
Nearly one in five marketers (19.6%) said influencer marketing is the area where they would most like to reduce spending, narrowly ahead of martech investments (18.6%).Â
At face value, this might suggest declining confidence in both categories. But the next question reveals a more nuanced reality. Rather than abandoning these investments entirely, marketers appear to be reassessing where value is being created—and where it isn’t.
If Teams Could Reinvest That Budget Elsewhere, Where Would It Go?
When asked where they would invest the savings, marketers immediately shifted their focus toward channels they believe can deliver measurable impact.
| Paid social advertising | 24.8% |
| Marketing technology stack (MarTech) | 20.8% |
| Events and sponsorships | 18.2% |
| Influencer marketing | 14.7% |
| Programmatic/display advertising | 13.5% |
| Agency retainers | 8.1% |
Nearly one-quarter (24.8%) of marketers said they would invest more heavily in paid social advertising, making it the highest-confidence reinvestment area in the survey.
The Martech Paradox: Marketers Want Better Martech, Not Less Martech
Throughout the survey, marketing technology repeatedly appeared in both spending reduction and investment conversations.
| Would cut martech spend | 18.6% |
| Would invest more in martech | 20.8% |
More marketers said they would invest more in martech (20.8%) than cut it (18.6%), suggesting the issue is not technology investment itself but technology efficiency.
At first glance, the results seem contradictory. How can marketers simultaneously want to cut martech and invest more in it? Across the survey, marketers consistently signaled a desire to consolidate tools, eliminate redundancy, and prioritize platforms that deliver measurable business value.
The implication is clear: technology spending isn’t disappearing. It’s becoming more selective. Leading brands will prioritize smaller, more effective martech stacks.
How AI Is Changing Marketing Investment Decisions
AI is influencing marketing budgets in two distinct ways: where organizations want to invest and how marketing teams are expected to operate. While AI continues to dominate industry conversations, the survey reveals a more mature perspective than the hype cycle often suggests.
What AI Capabilities Are Marketers Most Excited to Experiment With?
If budget and internal constraints weren’t a factor, marketers say they would prioritize AI systems that help them make better decisions—not simply generate more content.
| AI-powered customer sentiment and brand monitoring | 23.0% |
| Autonomous campaign management | 20.4% |
| AI-generated video/creative at scale | 20.0% |
| Predictive lead scoring and conversion optimization | 18.6% |
| Real-time personalization at scale | 18.0% |
The most requested capability was AI-powered customer sentiment and brand monitoring, followed closely by autonomous campaign management.
What’s notable is what didn’t dominate the results. While generative AI continues to receive enormous attention, marketers showed equally strong interest in predictive intelligence, optimization, and decision-support capabilities.
The strongest signal emerging from the data is that marketers increasingly view AI as a way to improve responsiveness, relevance, and decision-making—not simply content production.
What Marketing Trend Are Teams Most Excited to Invest In?
Earlier in the survey, nearly 22% of marketers identified AI-generated content creating a lack of differentiation as one of the biggest threats facing the industry. Yet marketers remain eager to invest in AI.
| Sustainable/purpose-driven marketing | 23.6% |
| AI-driven campaigns | 23.4% |
| Influencer and creator collaborations | 22.8% |
| Experiential/event marketing | 20.0% |
| Immersive technology (AR/VR, gamification) | 10.3% |
AI-driven campaigns ranked as the second most popular investment area, selected by 23.4% of marketers, alongside nearly equal enthusiasm for creator marketing, experiential marketing, and purpose-driven branding—all areas that help brands establish unique identities and deeper customer connections.
Taken together, the findings suggest marketers are searching for a balance between efficiency and differentiation. They want AI that helps them scale relevance and performance without sacrificing the distinctiveness that makes brands memorable.
How Have Organization Responded to AI’s Impact on Marketing Roles?
While AI is influencing future investment priorities, it is also reshaping how marketing organizations operate today.
| Quietly absorbed more work into existing roles without adding staff | 39.0% |
| Been transparent about how AI may affect headcount | 24.0% |
| Invested in upskilling the team to work alongside AI | 19.2% |
| Reduced headcount and attributed it to efficiency gains | 11.3% |
| Haven’t addressed it formally with the team | 6.5% |
Despite widespread concern about AI-driven job displacement, only 11.3% of marketers say their organizations have reduced headcount and attributed it to AI efficiency gains.
The more common reality is increased productivity expectations. Nearly 40% of respondents said their organizations have absorbed more work into existing roles without adding staff.
Interestingly, directors were significantly more likely than practitioners to report that work had been absorbed without adding staff (44% versus 34.3%), suggesting leadership may more clearly recognize AI’s role in scaling productivity expectations.
How Marketing Success Is Being Measured
The spending decisions marketers are making become easier to understand when you look at how success is being measured. As budgets come under greater scrutiny, marketing leaders are increasingly being evaluated through business outcomes rather than activity metrics.
Which Metric Is Most Important When Measuring Campaign Success?
| Revenue / sales generated | 21.0% |
| ROI per channel | 18.8% |
| Brand awareness / reach | 16.8% |
| Retention / repeat purchase rate | 16.0% |
| Engagement | 14.9% |
| Customer acquisition cost (CAC) | 12.5% |
Revenue and ROI are now the dominant measures of marketing success, accounting for nearly 40% of all responses. This is perhaps the clearest explanation for the spending behavior seen throughout the survey.
- Why are marketers consolidating martech?
- Why are they reallocating spend toward higher-confidence investments?
- Why are they embracing AI while demanding measurable outcomes?
Because success is increasingly being measured through business impact rather than vanity metrics like clicks and impressions.
Another notable finding is that retention and repeat purchase rate ranked ahead of customer acquisition cost, suggesting marketers are placing growing emphasis on maximizing customer value alongside acquiring new customers.
UK Marketers Show Stronger Emphasis on Revenue, AI, and Upskilling
Across nearly every major survey question, UK marketing teams reported higher levels of pressure, accountability, and AI adoption than their US counterparts. UK marketers are:
- 37% more likely to cite economic pressure as the biggest threat to marketing effectiveness (UK: 31% vs. US: 22.6%).
- 12% more likely to say they are expected to do more with less budget and fewer people (UK: 73.3% vs. US: 65.3%).
- 47% more likely to express interest in investing in AI-driven campaigns (UK: 31% vs. US: 21.1%).
- 51% more likely to have invested in upskilling teams to work alongside AI (UK: 25.9% vs. US: 17.2%).
- 65% more likely to prioritize revenue as their primary measure of campaign success (UK: 30.2% vs. US: 18.3%).
Taken alongside earlier findings, the data suggests UK marketers are operating in a more commercially demanding environment, driving a stronger emphasis on AI investment, workforce adaptation, and measurable business outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Marketing Budgets in 2026
1. Are marketing budgets increasing or decreasing in 2026?
According to the survey, 70.9% of marketers reported increased budgets over the past 12 months, while only 6.1% reported budget decreases. The data suggests most organizations are still investing in marketing, even as spending decisions face greater scrutiny.
2. What is the biggest threat facing marketers in 2026?
Economic pressure and budget cuts ranked as the biggest threat, cited by 24.6% of marketers. Rapid technological change (22.6%) and AI-generated content creating a lack of differentiation (21.8%) followed closely behind.
3. Are marketers still investing in AI?
Yes. AI remains one of the top investment priorities, with 23.4% of marketers most excited to invest in AI-driven campaigns. Marketers are particularly interested in AI-powered customer sentiment and brand monitoring (23%) and predictive lead scoring and conversion optimization (18.6%), signaling a focus on smarter decision-making and performance.
4. Where are marketers cutting spending?
Marketing tools and software were the most common area of budget reductions, cited by 20.2% of marketers. Paid advertising (18%) and agency or contractor fees (17.6%) were also common targets for cuts.
5. How is AI affecting marketing teams?
The most common impact is increased productivity expectations. Nearly 40% of marketers reported absorbing more work into existing roles without adding staff, while only 11.3% reported AI-related headcount reductions.
6. How are marketers measuring success in 2026?
Revenue generated (21%) and ROI per channel (18.8%) are the most important success metrics. Together, they account for nearly 40% of responses, indicating a growing emphasis on measurable business outcomes.
The New Marketing Budget Reality
The dominant narrative around marketing spending in 2026 is not one of contraction. It’s one of reallocation.
Marketing leaders are consolidating technology, reevaluating channels, redirecting budget toward higher-confidence investments, and increasingly embracing AI to improve efficiency and decision-making.
The most effective marketing organizations won’t necessarily be the ones with the largest budgets. They’ll be the ones that make the clearest connection between every investment and business outcomes.
The data tells a clear story: growth isn’t being driven by bigger budgets alone. It’s being driven by smarter investment decisions.
| Explore more insights on customer engagement, personalization, AI, measurement, and marketing performance in the 2026 Customer Engagement Report. |