Guillaume Roques, senior marketing director for Google Cloud EMEA, presents a fundamental transformation of marketing budgets for 2026: moving away from fixed annual envelopes in favor of dynamic investments driven by demand and ROI.
The problem with fixed budgets
Traditional marketing budgets create a destructive paradox: the best-performing campaigns hit their budget ceilings, preventing brands from capturing all available demand. Only 17% of companies have truly flexible budgets, while data shows that UK advertisers could gain 20% additional conversions in Search simply by adopting budget agility. Sophie Neary, managing director at Google, illustrates the absurdity: missing 30% of sales after 7pm due to budget exhaustion is equivalent to closing the store during peak hours.
Changing the conversation with CFOs
The key lies in reframing the dialogue with finance departments. Instead of asking for more budget, marketers must pose the question: "can we afford to miss sales at our target ROI?" This reformulation transforms marketing from a cost center into an investment driver. Scott Sinclair points out that CFOs fully understand the logic: if Search demand exists and ROI is under control, spending to capture all of it is a rational financial decision.
Three pillars for implementation
1. Speaking the same language: Marketers must abandon marketing-centric metrics (impressions, clicks) in favor of financially relevant KPIs: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), marginal ROI, overall profitability. Currently, only 22% of CMOs describe their relationship with the CFO as "truly collaborative."
2. Proving impact through robust measurement: With 77% of analytics professionals reporting increased pressure to prove ROI, comprehensive measurement becomes critical. This includes: using Marketing Mix Models (MMM) such as Meridian for top-down analysis; leveraging Google Analytics for full customer journey tracking; recovering unobserved conversions; and conducting incrementality experiments (Brand Lift, Conversion Lift) to demonstrate additional sales.
3. Using AI as a strategic engine: AI is not just an efficiency tool but the very foundation of demand-driven budgeting. Google's AI-powered solutions (Performance Max, AI Max for Search, Demand Gen) optimize campaigns in real time, identifying converting customers across all channels. Powered by robust first-party data, these tools increase reach and conversions, ensuring the budget is deployed where it generates the best returns.
Models for success
Brands successfully transitioning to demand-led marketing share common traits: flexible budgets, well-defined audiences, and robust measurement systems that fuel their "AI flywheel." These companies prove their value to finance teams in real time, transforming marketing from cost management into a growth unlock.
The core message: marketing success in 2026 depends on adopting this ROI- and demand-driven investment model, rather than defending fixed budget allocations.