What is the cost of cutting brand investment?

By Kevin GoodwinKevin Goodwin – SVP of Strategy & Growth @ New Engen

It’s likely much higher than you think.

A BCG study released last week found that cutting $1 of brand investment today costs companies $1.92 (!!) in future investment to regain lost share.

Let’s break that down in a simple example:

• You Cut $500,000 in brand investment this year
• You lose a small % of market share on a short term basis
• To win back that market share, you would need to spend $960,000 next year

And because of your weaker market share position, your revenue and profitability are likely to take a hit, impacting your ability to invest in marketing. Repeat this exercise over the course of a few years and you will find yourself in an insurmountable hole.

To quote the BCG study: “The evidence shows that brand marketing behaves like capital. When sustained, it compounds. When underfunded, it depreciates quickly, requiring disproportionate reinvestment to recover.”

With Brand, just like capital:

• Consistency builds strength
• Neglect causes fast decay
• Recovery is expensive

As much as it sounds self-serving for marketers, media BUDGET is a brand’s single greatest lever for growth. Marketers AND financial leaders must work hard to focus on maximizing working media.

As you partner with finance on 2026 budget and media planning, remember this statistic: a brand dollar today is worth NEARLY two brand dollars next year.