Marketers Face 40-Point Gap Between Business Optimism and Budget Reality

WARC survey shows 59% expect better business in 2026 but only 19% see budget increases—short-termism and AI anxiety dominate planning

59% of brand marketers expect business to improve in 2026. Only 19% expect higher budgets.

That 40 percentage point gap tells you everything about 2026. WARC’s Voice of the Marketer report surveyed over 1,000 marketers worldwide between September and October 2025. The data shows CFOs aren’t matching marketer optimism with investment.

Four trends dominate: budget cuts driving short-term thinking, US trade policy uncertainty, doubled AI anxiety, and digital’s near-total lock on ad spend.