Marketing budgets hold at 7.7% in 2025: Gartner CMO survey

Gartner’s annual CMO Spend Survey reveals that after several years of steady decline, marketing budgets have now stabilised. CMOs facing ongoing fiscal challenges are placing their bets on paid media channels and leaning into productivity tactics to navigate 2025’s choppy waters.

 

Key findings:

Marketing budgets have stabilised in 2025 after years of decline, holding steady at an average of 7.7% of company revenue for the second consecutive year. However, half of CMOs report budgets of 6% or less, highlighting ongoing fiscal constraints across industries. This plateau signals a cautious optimism but also highlights that marketing spending remains below pre-pandemic levels, with many CMOs facing the reality that budgets may be cut during the year due to economic volatility.

 

 

Budget distribution and industry variations

 

The survey reveals a stark divide between 'budget-conscious' CMOs with 4% or less of revenue allocated to marketing and 'big spenders' with budgets exceeding 10.5%. Budget-conscious CMOs tend to focus heavily on performance marketing channels, dedicating nearly two-thirds of their digital spend to search advertising, but they invest less in data, insights, and transformation initiatives. Conversely, big spenders allocate over a third of their budgets to change and transformation activities, diversify their channel mix including offline media like linear TV, and invest more in personalisation and analytics to enhance campaign effectiveness.

 

 

Industries such as consumer products, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals saw notable budget increases in 2025, with consumer products up 45% to 9.7%, manufacturing rebounding to 9.5%, and pharma budgets rising 29% to 9%. Despite these gains, inflation, geopolitical tensions, and tariffs continue to cast uncertainty over marketing plans, with many CMOs expecting further budget adjustments within the year.

 

 

Shift toward paid media and digital dominance

 

Paid media now commands nearly one-third (30.6%) of total marketing budgets, an 11% increase year-over-year in terms of company revenue share. This reflects CMOs’ strategy to protect media spend amid economic uncertainty, as paid media channels offer targetability and adaptability essential in volatile markets. 

 

 

 

 

Offline media and event marketing

 

Offline channels now represent 38.9% of marketing budgets, with events leading the offline spend at 19.3%, followed by sponsorships (17.4%) and linear TV (16.2%). The sustained investment in linear TV defies long-standing predictions of its decline, indicating its continued relevance in multi-channel marketing strategies.

 

 

Productivity and strategic focus

 

Faced with static budgets, CMOs are prioritising productivity improvements by leveraging data, technology, and strategic expertise to maximise value. More than half of marketing budgets are allocated to consideration and conversion activities, reflecting a tilt toward performance marketing focused on near-term results. Brand awareness remains important, accounting for 29% of media spend, but fewer CMOs plan to prioritise brand investments in 2025 compared to performance channels, despite evidence that cutting brand spend may not yield immediate gains.

 

Overall, the survey highlights the cautious but strategic stance CMOs are taking in 2025, balancing budget constraints with the need to invest in digital transformation, paid media, and productivity enhancements to navigate an uncertain global environment.

 

Methodology: The 2025 Gartner CMO Spend Survey was conducted online from January to March 2025, and gathered responses from 402 marketing leaders across North America, the UK, and Europe.