Budget allocation, AI adoption and commercial confidence across 45 senior B2B marketing decision-makers. January to February 2026.
The average B2B marketing budget sits at around 5% of turnover, with a median of just 3%. That is not much to work with, and 2026 is making it even harder.
73% of respondents faced longer sales cycles. Nearly half dealt with pricing pressure on top of that. Buyers are more cautious, procurement is slower, and budgets are being scrutinised.
The response to AI flooding the market with slop has been to push back with brand. 44% plan to increase brand and creative spend in 2026, the highest of any category. Events and PR follow at 41%, reflecting a greater appetite for trust and human connection.
AI is well funded but poorly measured. 41% had no trouble getting budget approved. Nearly 40% have little or no confidence measuring the return. The industry is spending on vibes.
Brand and creative attracts the highest net increase in planned spend. Events and PR follow closely. Agency budgets face the sharpest reductions.
Budget allocation reveals a sharp divide in B2B marketing. Some organisations lean heavily on paid media while others invest almost exclusively in organic channels, content and brand. Technology and agency spend remain lean across the board.
| Channel | 0-10% | 11-20% | 21-30% | 31-40% | 41%+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid media | 41% | 7% | 20% | 12% | 20% |
| Content & thought leadership | 34% | 42% | 17% | 7% | - |
| Brand & creative | 39% | 39% | 15% | 7% | - |
| Sales & demand activation | 49% | 29% | 10% | 12% | - |
| Community, events & PR | 32% | 34% | 17% | 7% | 10% |
| Technology & data | 44% | 46% | 5% | 2% | 2% |
| Agencies & partners | 51% | 22% | 20% | 5% | 2% |
Paid media spending is sharply polarised. Some 41 per cent of marketers allocate 0 to 10 per cent of budget to paid, while 20 per cent commit more than 41 per cent. Two distinct camps exist in B2B: paid-heavy performance marketers and organic-first brand builders. Content sits firmly in the 11 to 20 per cent range for 42 per cent of respondents. Technology and data remains modest, kept below 20 per cent by 90 per cent of the sample. More than half keep agency spend below 10 per cent, consistent with the long-term trend towards in-housing.
Extended decision timelines are now the dominant obstacle to growth. Pricing pressure and weak pipeline compound the challenge.
Nearly three in four marketers cite longer sales cycles as their principal growth barrier. This is not just a marketing problem. Decision-making committees have expanded, procurement has tightened, and budget holders are more cautious. But the backdrop matters too. UK economic confidence has been fragile, interest rates stayed higher for longer, and businesses have been slower to commit capital. When the cost of getting a decision wrong goes up, the instinct is to delay it. Marketers who can shorten the path to purchase through stronger content, sharper nurture and closer sales alignment will hold a real advantage.
Only half of B2B marketers rate their 2025 marketing ROI positively. One in five rates it as poor or very poor.
A 20 per cent "poor or very poor" rating demands attention. Only 10 per cent achieved "excellent" returns. The 32 per cent reporting "average" suggests a significant proportion of B2B organisations cannot clearly connect marketing activity to commercial outcomes. In 2026, marketing leaders face mounting pressure to demonstrate pipeline impact. The days of activity-based reporting are numbered.
Budget sign-off for AI is not the obstacle. Proving its value is. Nearly 40 per cent of marketers lack confidence in measuring AI returns.
Getting budget approval for AI is not the problem. Some 78 per cent find sign-off easy or neutral. Proving it works is another matter. Nearly 40 per cent have low or no confidence in measuring AI ROI, and only 5 per cent describe themselves as "very confident". Organisations are approving AI spend on the basis of strategic conviction rather than demonstrated returns. Without better measurement frameworks, a correction becomes more likely. Not because AI fails to deliver, but because teams cannot prove that it does.
B2B leaders want graduates who combine analytical rigour with technical capability. AI fluency is a baseline expectation, not a differentiator.
The three leading graduate skills are data literacy (59%), AI tools (56%) and marketing strategy (54%). The industry wants analytically capable, technically literate strategic thinkers. LLM-specific skills at 44 per cent confirm that generative AI has moved from novelty to expected competency. Soft skills at 34 per cent remain relevant, suggesting that as automation takes over execution, human capabilities in communication and stakeholder management become more, not less, valuable. AI and automation dominates the careers outlook at 68 per cent, followed by data and analytics at 49 per cent.
Most B2B marketers report acceptable work-life balance. A notable minority, however, is struggling.
An average of 3.4 out of 5 indicates that most marketers are coping, though not thriving. The 15 per cent reporting scores of 1 or 2 represents a cohort in genuine difficulty. The pressures documented in this report, from lengthening cycles to ROI scrutiny and AI adoption demands, carry a human cost. Just over half rate their balance at 4 or 5, which is encouraging. The challenge for 2026 is to pursue commercial accountability without eroding the wellbeing gains of recent years.
This report documents an industry at a turning point. B2B marketers are under real and sustained commercial pressure. Sales cycles are longer, ROI is harder to prove, and the skills required of the next generation have shifted decisively towards data, AI and strategic thinking.
The return to brand investment is the clearest signal in the data. After years of performance-marketing dominance, 44 per cent of decision-makers plan to increase brand and creative spend in 2026. This is rational: when buying cycles extend and competition intensifies, brand trust becomes a structural advantage rather than a discretionary spend.
Yet the gap between AI enthusiasm and AI measurement remains the most pressing risk. Organisations are committing budget on the basis of strategic conviction. Without frameworks to demonstrate returns, that conviction will be tested. The 39 per cent who lack confidence in measuring AI ROI represent a vulnerability that the industry must address before the next budget cycle.
The marketers who will lead in 2026 are those who can connect activity to outcomes, prove the value of the tools they adopt, and build brands that shorten the path to purchase. The data is clear. The question is whether the industry will act on it.
This report draws on a survey of 45 B2B marketing decision-makers conducted between January and February 2026. Respondents provided data on budget allocation, expected 2026 spending shifts, marketing ROI, sales growth barriers, AI adoption, graduate skills, career outlook and work-life balance. Multi-select questions are reported as a percentage of respondents selecting each option. All responses have been anonymised and aggregated.
Analysis
The strongest signal in this data is the return of brand. After years of performance-marketing dominance, 44% of respondents plan to increase brand and creative investment in 2026, the highest net increase across all categories. Events and PR follow closely, with 41% planning to increase spend there too.
It is not a coincidence that the two fastest-growing categories are the ones AI cannot replicate. You cannot automate a room full of the right people. You cannot generate genuine reputation. In an era where content is infinite and execution is increasingly commoditised, brand and human connection have become the competitive moat. The marketers increasing spend here are not retreating from modern marketing. They are doing the sophisticated thing.