Exclusive 2026 Marketing Budget Insights: What Marketing Leaders Are Really Prioritizing

Every year, marketing predictions flood inboxes and social feeds. AI will change everything, brand is back, performance is dead (or not), budgets are tightening (or exploding). But what actually matters isn’t what “experts” say, but rather what marketing leaders and business leaders are doing with their marketing dollars.

That’s why we surveyed over 1,000 marketing directors, executives and business owners last month for our 2026 Marketing Budget Survey. Based on their responses, this dataset offers an exclusive, unfiltered look at how leaders are allocating budgets, structuring teams, and measuring success heading into 2026. 

Let’s break down what the data really tells us—and what it means for your business.

Budget Momentum Is Upward

First, the headline many reading this will care about most: marketing budgets are not shrinking.

More importantly, when asked how 2026 budgets compare to 2025:

• 46% of respondents report their budget is increasing
• 38% say it’s staying about the same
• Only 15% of respondents report moderate decreases
• None report significant cuts

Takeaway: Marketing isn’t being deprioritized. It’s being scrutinized. Companies aren’t afraid to spend—but they want clarity, control, and results. As budgets increase, deeper visibility into ROI is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity. 

Testing Is Alive, But Risk Appetite Is Limited

Innovation always sounds great in theory. In practice, our survey shows most businesses are balancing experimentation with caution.

When asked what percentage of budget is dedicated to testing:

• 79% of respondents allocate 10% or less
• The rest invest no more than 30%

Takeaway: This signals a market that values measured experimentation. Leaders want proof before scaling—and they’re less interested in home runs than in incremental gains.

For marketers, this reinforces a key reality: if you’re proposing a new channel, platform, or tool, you’ll need a clear test-and-learn framework tied to business outcomes—not just innovation for innovation’s sake.

Not Much Has Changed For In-House Teams

One of the clearest themes in our data is a desire for control. When asked whether marketing is moving more in-house or outsourced in 2026:

• 77% of respondents say their mix is staying about the same
• Only 15% report bringing more in-house
• Just 8% reports outsourcing more

Digging deeper, the activities most commonly kept in-house include:

• Content creation (85%)
• Strategy and planning (69%)
• Social media management (62%)
• Email marketing (56%)

Meanwhile, outsourcing is concentrated around:

• SEO/organic search (54%)
• Video production (51%)
• Website development (46%)
• Paid advertising (39%)

The primary reason behind these decisions? Cost savings and control, cited by 77% of respondents, far outweigh speed or past success.

It’s clear that nobody wants to just turn over the keys to an agency or consultant anymore. They want partners who extend capability with strategic guidance and demonstrated expertise—not replace internal institutional knowledge and brand equity. 

Where the Money Is Going in 2026

So where are leaders increasing spend? The top budget gainers are:

• Events and experiential marketing (46%)
• Video marketing (39%)
• Paid search (31%)
• SEO/organic search (28%)

This is telling. Despite digital fatigue, real-world connection and high-engagement formats are back. Events, video, and search all share one thing in common: they’re closer to measurable intent than broad awareness plays.

On the flip side, what’s getting cut?

• The majority—57%—aren’t cutting anything
• Minimal reductions appear in print, radio, display ads, and trade shows
• One respondent explicitly cited cutting sponsorships, including sports affiliations

This reinforces a “reallocation, not retreat” mindset. Budgets are being refined vs. slashed, and decisions need to be data-driven vs. gut feelings.

Brand Still Matters—But Revenue Rules

When asked their #1 marketing priority for 2026:

• 50% chose increasing brand awareness
• 36% chose driving direct sales
• The rest were split across customer loyalty and measurement improvements

This balance is important. Brand is back—but it’s not untethered from performance. Leaders want brand investment that ultimately supports pipeline, market share, and long-term growth.

It also suggests that companies are doing well enough with business development and overall growth which allows them to shift to a focus on brand to reinforce their presence in the market. This supports the increased investment in content creation that we detailed earlier. Companies want to be top of mind for their audience and widen their lead funnels. 

Measurement Confidence Is… Mixed

Despite revenue and lead generation being top success metrics, confidence in measurement is shaky:

• Only 7% of respondents feel very confident in their ROI tracking
• 57% fall between “somewhat confident” and “neutral”
• 36% admit low or no confidence

Even more concerning: 5% stated they aren’t tracking their primary metric at all.

This gap between ambition and visibility may be the most actionable insight in the entire survey. Businesses want results—but many lack the infrastructure to clearly see what’s working. With the tools we have available now like dynamic phone call tracking, live website chat, SMS marketing, and the fact that AI now allows us to effortlessly make sense of mountains of lead data, ROI tracking needs to be prioritized to make the most out of budgets in 2026. 

AI Adoption: Polarized and Cautious

AI continues to dominate marketing headlines, but adoption here is split:

• 46% of respondents are not investing in AI tools
• Among adopters, content generation (44%) and marketing automation (29%) lead the way
• Advanced use cases like predictive analytics remain niche

This tells us AI in 2026 is less about hype and more about practicality. Leaders are experimenting where it saves time—but they’re not blindly betting the farm. This presents an opportunity for companies that want to gain an edge over competitors that are still on the fence about applying AI. Similar to the testing section earlier in our survey, AI should be introduced into your marketing strategy with a process-based approach that leans heavily on testing before going all in. 

Survey Says? What This Means for You

Our survey offers three clear lessons:

1. Marketing spend is stable—but expectations are higher. Every dollar must justify itself.
2. Control and clarity matter more than novelty. Teams want insight, ownership, and partners who respect both.
3. Measurement is the biggest competitive gap. Those who solve attribution and ROI will outperform peers with similar budgets.

Turning Insight Into Advantage

Data like this doesn’t just describe the market—it reveals opportunity.

What this survey makes clear is that many businesses are entering 2026 with steady budgets, rising expectations, and lingering uncertainty around where growth is really coming from. Leaders want brand impact and revenue. They want experimentation without waste. And they want clarity around ROI—but many don’t yet have the systems or strategy to get there.

That gap is where competitive advantage lives.

If you’re making decisions about where to invest, what to bring in-house, what to outsource, or how to prove marketing’s value to the business, having the right strategy matters more than having a bigger budget.

That’s where our team comes in. We work with business owners and marketing leaders to translate data like this into clear priorities, smarter allocation, and measurable results—without the fluff, hype, or one-size-fits-all playbooks.

If you’d like to pressure-test your 2026 marketing plan, identify where you’re overspending or under-investing, or build a clearer path from strategy to ROI, schedule a strategy meeting with our team.