Marketing Budget Calculator
Not sure how much to invest in marketing? Our simple Budget Calculator helps you plan with confidence, using industry benchmarks and research. See how your current or planned spend compares to the ideal—and what that means for your results.
How our Budget Calculator Works
Expert Guidance: Based on solid marketing principles and up-to-date research.
Customised Strategy: Tailor your budget to suit your current situation and your business goals.
Optimised Spending: Ensure your budget is allocated to the right area of marketing for proven success.
Review likely impact: See what impact your current budget is likely to generate and how different levels of spend will effect your results.
Our overall budget calculation
We use a percentage of revenue as a suggested yearly budget. For those looking to maintain their market share we use 5% of turnover. For those looking to grow market share by less than 2% we suggest 6%, for moderate growth of 2-4% market share it's 8%, and for those aiming for transformative growth of more than 4% market share we suggest reinvesting 11% of revenue.
These figures may be higher than your current level of spend so be warned: underinvestment in marketing will hamper your results. A Nielson report found that 50% of media plans are underinvested by a median of 50% and ROI can be improved 50% with an ideal budget.
Brand vs Activation budget split
For brand vs activation budget we start out with a 60:40 split in favour of brand. This calculation has been widely used since Binet and Field showed to be be optimal in 'The Long and Short of it'. From here we apply weightings based on research from Effectiveness In Context, again by Binet and Field, from 2019. These adjustments to the baseline 60/40 split relate to industry, brand size and pricing.
Many businesses underinvest in brand building activity in favour of activation activity which is focused on driving short term returns. For significant long term growth you will need to invest in building brand equity.
Our references
This isn't just our opinion, it's based on guidance from some of the most respected voices in the marketing industry, based on their statistical research.
"Aim for 10% of [your] business’s turnover, to get the “maximum efficiencies and effect” and, most likely, a competitive advantage."
Mark Ritson, brand consultant and former marketing professor at London Business School & MIT, writing in Marketing Week.
"Media spend needs to be between 1% and 9% of revenue to stay competitive."
Nielsen ROI Report 2022
"A good rule of thumb is to spend between 5% and 10% of turnover on advertising for the highest return on investment."
Grace Kite, founder and managing director of Magic Numbers, in Marketing Week.
"A 60:40 ratio of brand to activation spend is typically optimal"
The Long and the Short of It: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing Strategies by Les Binet and Peter Field. Published June 2013 in association with Thinkbox and the IPA
"[Brands] that cut brand budgets and try to rely on short-term activation only will continue to underperform"
Media In Focus: Marketing Effectiveness in the Digital Era by Les Binet and Peter Field. Published October 2017 in association with Google, Thinkbox and the IPA
The “60:40” rule for balancing brand and activation expenditure is evolving... there are significant variations by sector"
Effectiveness In Context, A Manual For Brand Building By Les Binet and Peter Field. Published October 2019 in association with Google, Thinkbox and the IPA
How to use our Budget Calculator
Our calculator is presented as a custom Claude artifact. If this doesn't mean anything to you don't worry, it's as simple to use as any online form.
The tool will ask you to add your brand's current revenue - last year's exact revenue, or this year's predicted revenue will be fine. Next you'll select a growth aspiration, choose your industry (use the closest match) then brand size and product/service cost relative to your competitors.
You'll then be able to add in your actual budget, if you want to see how this compares to our suggested budget.
The tool will then show you our suggested yearly marketing budget for your organisation. Below this it will show you the impact you can expect your marketing to drive, based on the actual budget you entered.
The tool works in real time, so you can play with different budgets to see what the likely outcomes would be.
If you get stuck at all just get in touch and we can help you.
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