TLDR Tech / Marketing
Budgets Reflect Increase in Consumption-Based Martech, Paid Media Spend
Martech spending hit a 5-year low as a share of marketing budgets in 2026, dropping to 19% from 27% in 2021, even as 62% of CMOs planned to invest more in marketing technology. Paid media filled the gap, reaching a five-year high of 31% of marketing expenses, driven by AI-powered targeting and automated bidding. Performance declined across every major objective year-over-year, with 46% of CMOs exceeding campaign impact goals this year versus 58% last year, and 62% say missing this year's growth targets will trigger budget cuts.
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