In companies under EUR 100M revenue, demand gen usually dominates the marketing budget… and that’s understandable. You need a pipeline. You need results now.

Brand is often pushed to the sidelines, maybe 10–20% of the spend, if that. Because a brand is harder to attribute, it gets deprioritized. Because it gets deprioritized, the pipeline gets harder to generate over time.

Relying only on demand to scale is like pushing a car uphill alone. Possible, but not for long. So the goal isn’t equal 50/50 budget weight. It’s strategic balance: let demand lead, but give brands the space to do what it does best. Drive awareness, trust, and conversion readiness. Working on the long-term goal.

‍

Brand is the fuel demand runs on. It enables:

• Lower CAC: Buyers familiar with your brand convert faster and cheaper.
  
• Higher stickiness: Brand trust reduces churn and strengthens expansion.
  
• Sales velocity: Brand awareness shortens sales cycles.
  
• Defensibility: Communities and mindshare make it harder for competitors to displace you.

‍

👉 Here’s how we recommend thinking about the brand vs. demand split.

‍

Smart budget split

Companies between $10M and $100M in revenue typically allocate their marketing budgets like this:

• 40% on labor (salaries, benefits, training, etc.)
• 35% on marketing programs (brand and demand)
• 14% on tech stack
• 11% on agencies and services

So yes, labor takes the biggest chunk, but programs still account for more than a third of the total budget. And in high-growth companies, that share climbs even higher.

Now, inside that program spend, most of it usually goes toward demand generation, the campaigns that drive pipeline now. That’s where the pressure is. That’s what sales cares about.

Brand? Still often treated as an afterthought. Everyone agrees it’s important, but it rarely gets meaningful budget or attention. It's the first thing to get cut when targets are missed.

Don’t fall into the trap of only investing in what’s measurable in the short term. You need demand to hit this quarter, but brand is what makes next quarter more sustainable.

For companies with an ARR of under $100M, the typical split of the programs budget is around 70–80% for demand generation and 20–30% for branding.

This split can change based on the seasonality and the internal pressure/launches.

‍

The Year Has Seasons. Your Budget Should Too.

Marketing spend should move with the market… not just your internal timeline. Too many teams allocate their budget in even monthly chunks, ignoring how buyer behavior, seasonality, and sales pressure shift quarter by quarter.

That’s not a strategy. That’s autopilot.

Here’s how smart teams build flexibility into their brand and demand mix, by treating each quarter as a different strategic chapter:

Q1
‍Fresh budgets, fresh attention. Ideal time for brand plays that reset positioning, launch bold narratives, or claim thought leadership. Decision-makers are curious and open.
‍

Q2

Buying cycles heat up. Sales pressure increases. Demand should dominate. This is when you convert your last year’s brand investments into pipeline.
‍
Q3

Summer slowdowns hit. OOO calendars, delayed procurement, slower response times. Shift toward brand building, thought leadership, and Q4 prep. Demand stays live, but lean.

Q4

Everyone’s rushing to close. Budgets are spent or frozen. Time to go hard on field, ABM, events, and late-stage conversion. 

‍

TL;DR: Static Budgets Don’t Build Pipeline

• Brand creates leverage. It lowers CAC, builds trust, and fuels long-term demand.
• Demand drives pipeline. But only if it’s timed right and backed by strong brand signals.
• Your job? Don’t flatten your budget. Flex it by quarter.
• Marketing is seasonal. Growth is dynamic. Your budget should be both.

At GTMCAN, we’ve helped growth-stage teams, from lean startups to post-Series C powerhouses, build campaign machines that drive millions in pipeline. Want to turn your budget into a revenue engine? Let’s talk!

‍