Marketing research highlights importance of brand awareness spending

Marketing leaders face increasing pressure to justify advertising expenditures amidst economic uncertainty. Research indicates that campaign failures often stem from structural flaws in strategic foundations, such as misalignments between brand positioning, audience expectations, and media strategy, rather than isolated creative issues.

A study conducted by Google and Tracksuit, titled ‘Return on Awareness,’ highlights the importance of maintaining brand awareness spending. By analyzing 31 brands across 15 categories, the research found a near one-to-one correlation for brands with approximately 30% awareness: every five-point increase in awareness resulted in a roughly five-point gain in ‘share of search.’ This metric is considered a leading indicator of future market share.

Despite these findings, economic data from the Spring 2026 CMO Survey suggests that marketer optimism is at its lowest point since the pandemic. As companies prioritize cost-cutting over growth investment, marketing budgets—particularly in traditional channels like radio—are frequently targeted for reductions.