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Most B2B marketing execs expect to have more money to work with in 2026, according to a new report from 10Fold.
The agency’s 2026 Marketing Budget Blueprint, which surveyed 400 senior marketing executives across the U.S., says that close to seven out of 10 respondents (69 percent) think their budgets will increase over the coming year.
However, those increases are, for the most part, expected to be rather modest. Only 10 percent expect budgets to go up by 11 percent or more, with 42 percent expecting a hike of from five to 10 percent, and 17 percent predicting a rise of less than five percent.
When it comes to where that money will be spent, brand awareness and content marketing are at the top of the heap. Survey participants anticipate that 16 percent of their budgets will go toward those functions. Lead generation/performance marketing (13.7 percent), product marketing/marketing research and strategy (13.3 percent), and customer marketing/retention (12.9 percent) were all fairly close behind.
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Event marketing and channel programs slid slightly out of favor, both down 13 percent from last year’s figures.
A large majority of respondents (89 percent) think that the budgets they have to work with in the coming year will be sufficient for them to meet their revenue and growth goals.
In addition, seven out of 10 feel that the C-Suite at their organization fully understands the objectives and challenges the marketing function faces. Only four percent feel misunderstood by top execs, with 26 percent feeling that their leadership is at least partially aligned with their goals.
Investing in artificial intelligence is a major factor for participants. More than half of them (55 percent) say they plan to use AI to scale product marketing and research, with 46 percent using it to scale brand awareness. The importance of AI training is on the upswing as well, with 58 percent saying they plan to increase AI training budgets to upskill their teams.
“Marketing teams are entering 2026 with more budget, but also with more pressure to allocate it where it matters,” said 10Fold CEO Susan Thomas. “Brand awareness has become the new battleground. In an AI-filtered landscape, the organizations that invest in credibility, recognizability and consistent content performance will be the ones that win attention and accelerate growth.”
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