CONTENT'S ON THE UP
–BUT AT WHAT COST?

More and more of your marketing spend getting swallowed up by content?
You’re far from the only one.

In our survey, a massive 9 in 10 marketing leaders say their content budget’s increased over the past five years. A third of these claim the rise has been steep, with only tiny numbers seeing a drop (2%) or no change (7%).

Extra spend is no bad thing by itself, yet content creep is edging out other parts of marketing.

Among the execs we spoke to, content now accounts for 41% of their entire budget. And a third of them say over half their spend goes on content. This is a big spike since 2023, when the average was 24%.

But that’s a good thing… right?

CATCH OF THE DAY

The thing about cash is that it rarely comes without conditions. And, as our marketing leaders point out, the price they pay is pressure.

REVENUE PRESSURE RISES

Marketing teams have felt more expectation to deliver revenue over the last five years, and they don’t expect it to ease off. Half believe this pressure will ramp up in future, with only 1 in 5 saying there’ll be less (and 2 in 5 the same).

It’d maybe be worth it—swell even—if all this stress was being paid back in sweet, sweet revenue. Except it’s not.

Or, to be exact, CMOs don’t know (the revenue gap ate their budget, and gave no answers). And at this point, they’re too afraid to ask.

Because things can always get worse. And by far the most alarming data from our entire survey came on the topic of confidence.