Your Marketing Budget Odyssey: Navigating Success in 2024 

Budget

It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year: budget season. As you’re looking to strategically allocate resources and set the right financial course for your company’s growth and success, there’s a lot to consider and plan. According to the 2023 CMO Survey, marketing budgets rose to 10.9% of company revenues in the last 12 months.1 However, 2023 has been a year of economic uncertainty, making it difficult to predict what 2024 might bring.   

It will be critical for organizations to look for the right investments to ensure growth in 2024. In this blog post, we’ll delve into key factors when formulating your 2024 marketing budgets and beyond. 

Clearly Define Your Business Goals and Objectives 

The first thing you need when planning for 2024? A clear understanding of what you want to achieve in terms of revenue growth, market share expansion, and new product deployment. What are your targets for both sales and revenue, and how do individual marketing activities and channels fit into reaching the potential customers you need to achieve those goals? 

Linking KPIs to your active channels and unique buyer journey stages to actual business results enables a better understanding of the impact of your individual activities and overall marketing program. For example, if you are focusing on increasing brand awareness, measure what effect it has on website traffic. What web pages are performing well, and why? What are the messages on those pages that resonate with your potential customers? Those insights will allow you to hone your messaging and amplify what works best for your target audiences. 

Market trends and developments are always changing, and it’s essential to be proactive in adapting to them. What’s the latest trend in consumer behavior for your product or industry? Which platforms or technology are gaining popularity and becoming dominant in the market? 

We get it—it’s a lot. The world is a lot right now. However, staying up to date with the latest market trends and the competitive landscape in your industry aids you in understanding consumer preferences, technological advancements, and shifts in demand. A budget that accounts for these trends can help you remain agile and responsive to changing market dynamics (as chaotic as they may be). 

Determine How To Allocate The Right Resources To The Right Activities 

It’s all about defining first, and then investing where it matters most. Determining how your resources—financial, human, and technological—will be distributed throughout the year is essential.  

The good news? We know what marketing activities get results. The obstacle? What works best is a little bit of everything, or a true multi-channel, integrated approach. 

Image source: McKinsey & Company2

Here’s an example of a multi-faceted approach for a new product launch: 

  • Targeted Paid Advertising: Highly targeted ad campaigns to reach potential customers across various platforms, including social media, search engines, and relevant industry websites. 
  • Influencer and Industry Partnerships: Collaborating with influencers and thought leaders in the industry can help tap into new audiences. By aligning with individuals who have a strong online presence through earned and social media, your team can leverage their credibility to reach a wider demographic. 
  • Localized Content Marketing: You already know that creating engaging and informative content tailored to the target audience is crucial. If the goal is to expand into new regions, it’s key to focus on localized marketing efforts. This could involve translating content, tailoring messaging to specific cultural nuances, and even running geo-targeted ad campaigns. 

Looking To The Future: Data Doesn’t Have To Be Overwhelming 

Data (and that includes the hottest new tool on the block, AI) is increasingly shaping every decision we make. You already know that you can use data to understand customer behavior, campaign performance, and much more. These data-driven insights can guide the allocation of funds to strategies that are more likely to yield positive results. 

But AI is also affecting our daily work lives in myriad ways. How do you factor it in when you’re looking at 2024? Look at capacity creation, for example. Using AI can potentially free up to 20% of your team’s time3, which can open whole new worlds of possibilities. This also enables you to do more with less, our constant goal as marketers. 

Image Source: McKinsey & Company 4 

As budgeting season approaches, you’re faced with the critical task of crafting a budget that supports your growth ambitions and marketing realities. Through effective collaboration and strategic planning, you can navigate budgeting season with confidence and drive your team and organization toward a great 2024. 

Want help with 2024 content planning, campaign strategy, or creative ideation? Reach out, we would love to hear more about your marketing needs or share your prospective with us on our social channels – LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook


Bonus Barbie Content: Research What Others Are Doing 

What are the media and advertising strategies of your rival companies? How can you stand out and gain more market share? By researching and analyzing the competition, you can better determine what resources should be allocated to support campaigns to better position you in the market. 

Want to learn from the best? Whether or not you like pink, the marketers behind the Barbie movie left everyone in awe. What are some of the learnings we can take from Barbie

  • Understand your audience: The Barbie movie understood how to craft tailored messages to both children and adults to drive box-office interest. The standout quote from the first few trailers? “If you like Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is also for you.”  
  • Get creative with cross-channel promotion:Barbie maximized the impact of its marketing efforts using social media, television, print, and online advertising—and it worked. Perhaps for your organization, for example, partnerships with influencers will help extend your brand visibility and tap into new audiences. 
  • Keep storytelling at center stage: It’s all about the right, compelling message delivered to the right audience at the right time. We’re all always hungry for great storytelling—when done right, it can truly elevate your campaign and brand into something special. 5

Authored By: Audrey Pennisi, Partner

Audrey Pennisi
  1. https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/cmosurveyresults/The_CMO_Survey-Highlights_and_Insights_Report-March_2023.pdf ↩︎
  2. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/beyond-belt-tightening-how-marketing-can-drive-resiliency-during-uncertain-times ↩︎
  3. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/how-top-performers-outpace-peers-in-sales-productivity ↩︎
  4. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/how-top-performers-outpace-peers-in-sales-productivity ↩︎
  5. https://www.digitalmarketer.com/blog/barbie-movie-redefined-brand-marketing/  ↩︎

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