Advertising budget statistics

How much do companies spend on marketing, and where does that money go? These figures show the major shift toward digital, paid search and AI, and what that means for your own budget.

Last updated: June 14, 2026 · 8 verified statistics

TDK

Tanguy De Keyzer Oprichter & digitale strateeg

7,8% Average marketing budget as a percentage of company revenue Budgets have stayed flat around this level for years. Companies that do invest in AI sit higher: organizations with a mature AI program spend an average of 8.9% of revenue on marketing. Source: Gartner CMO Spend Survey (2026)

2/3+ Share of media spend that goes to digital channels Digital media now accounts for more than two thirds of total media investment, up 18% since 2024. CMOs are shifting budget away from offline channels. Source: Gartner (2026)

62,6% Share of media spend that goes to awareness and conversion Acquisition and growth dominate the media budget. At the same time, the share going to labor cost rose from 21.9% to 24.5%, because AI still requires human expertise. Source: Gartner (2026)

15,3% Share of the marketing budget CMOs allocate to AI AI has become a fixed budget line in a short amount of time, but only 30% of organizations are ready to actually scale that investment. Source: Gartner CMO Spend Survey (2026)

+13,5% Expected growth of worldwide digital ad spending Digital remains by far the growth engine: it rises 13.5% worldwide this year, while traditional media (print, radio, linear TV) only manage +2.5%. Source: eMarketer (2026)

13,9% Share of paid search within the total digital budget Paid search is the largest digital channel and keeps growing year after year. Display took over second place from social advertising. Source: Gartner (2025)

41% Share of B2B advertising budgets that goes to LinkedIn LinkedIn accounts for 41% of B2B advertising budgets, 2 percentage points more than a year earlier. B2B is shifting money to channels where decision makers are. Source: Dreamdata (2026)

-29% Decline in the loyalty and retention budget since 2024 Companies are shifting media budget toward acquisition and growth. Retention and loyalty now account for less than 15% of media spend. Source: Gartner (2026)

What do these figures mean for Belgian B2B companies?

The big picture is clear: budgets are under pressure, digital keeps winning and money keeps shifting toward acquisition, paid search and AI. For a Belgian B2B company, the temptation to simply copy these trends is strong. Don’t do that blindly. A benchmark like “7.8% of revenue” or “62.6% to awareness and conversion” is an average across thousands of companies and webshops, not a recipe for your situation.

What actually matters: steer your budget on customers and revenue, not on vanity metrics like impressions or views. In B2B, with long sales cycles and high order values, it makes more sense to start where intent is highest. That’s often paid advertising, complemented by channels where your decision makers actually spend time. Base your split on your own CPCs per sector and your real conversion value, not on a chart from a US report. A budget that’s small but focused beats a large budget spread thinly everywhere. That isn’t cutting costs, it’s just doing the math more honestly.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of revenue should a B2B company spend on marketing? +

The average sits around 7 to 8% of revenue, but that says little about your own situation. Young or fast-growing companies often sit higher (sometimes 15 to 25%), established players lower. More important than the percentage is whether your budget generates qualified leads and revenue.

Should I shift my entire budget to digital? +

Digital now accounts for more than two thirds of media spend, and often even more in B2B. Still, going fully digital is rarely the right answer: the right mix depends on where your customers make decisions. Steer each channel on results, not on a fixed percentage.

How much of my ad budget should go to paid search? +

Among CMOs, paid search is the largest digital channel, because it reaches people who are actively searching. For B2B with high order values, search is often the most profitable starting point, but the right split is determined by your own CPCs and conversion value, not a benchmark.

CPC benchmarks by industry: what does a click cost in your B2B sector? How to improve ROAS: what is ROAS, how to calculate it and what it means in B2B Marketing budget: how do you split your B2B budget smartly? Building a data-driven paid media strategy for B2B

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Source: Customer Impact, Advertising budget statistics, https://www.customerimpact.be/en/marketing-statistics/advertising-budgets/

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