‘Tis the season…not just for holiday merriment, but for number-crunching, roadmap planning, and 2026 budgeting. We’ve seen a mixed bag from our clients when it comes to 2026 budgeting. Some companies are bullish, putting major dollars behind marketing initiatives that drive engagement, especially on digital platforms. Others are taking a more cautious approach, holding steady but avoiding unnecessary risk on strategies and platforms that haven’t yet shown meaningful ROI.
A Gartner survey of chief marketing officers (CMOs) from May 2025 showed that marketing budgets have flatlined in 2024 and 2025 at 7.7% of total revenue, down from 9.5% and 9.1%, in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
If you’re staring down a flat (or decreased) marketing budget for 2026, but your marketing to-do list remains long, consider these strategies that Monster Design has leveraged with clients when budgeting is precarious.
1. Take it one step at a time
It can feel daunting to sign a full-year retainer contract when you work in a dynamic, fast-changing industry. Consider shorter engagements that give you enough budget to meet your upcoming needs, but don’t overcommit you. This is especially valuable when working with a new agency partner. A shorter, initial engagement lets both agency and client decide if it’s a good fit without committing to the full year.
At Monster Design, we’re proud to offer flexible engagements for our clients. If you need to work one month or one quarter at a time, we’re happy to follow your lead—and work collaboratively to guide you through what’s doable on your timeline and within your budget.
2. Focus on the most important tasks first
Most marketers have a long wish list, but it’s rarely the case that you have the budget and bandwidth to knock out everything all at once. At Monster Design, we always counsel our clients to start with the most impactful project first. In many cases, that’s creating or refreshing branding or breathing new life into an outdated website. These are both foundational pieces that foster strong brand recognition and give you somewhere to drive traffic to.
Knock those projects out first, then circle back to determine what else can be done with your remaining budget.
3. Follow the data
A test and refine approach can help preserve precious marketing dollars across a wide range of channels, both digital and physical. For example, when the Monster Design team takes on a new social media engagement with a client, we propose three months of content and strategy, then we circle the wagons, reporting back on the highest-performing content and adjusting our approach accordingly. Same goes for digital ads and even printed direct mail pieces. Trackable links and QR codes ensure you only spend money on high-performing creative.
4. Avoid the large-agency bloat
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: there’s incredible value in working on a small, nimble agency like Monster Design over one of the big guys. Why? Large agencies often have too much overhead, too much inefficiency, and too many cooks in the kitchen. At Monster Design, we don’t load up engagements with account team members. Our creatives work directly with our clients to minimize overhead. And, we only hire expert, senior team members who work efficiently, tapping into years of knowing what works best for our clients.
So, before you sign off for the holidays, give us a jingle to start a conversation about how our team of strategic creatives can help you make the most of your 2026 budget, small or large.