Brands at Risk of Entering a ‘Doom Loop’ Amid Budget Pressures: Voice of the Marketer 2026

The ‘doom loop’ dilemma

The risk to marketers stems from a budgetary shift. The survey data show that those expecting lower budgets next year are more likely to invest in performance marketing (42%) than in brand marketing (29%).

This redirection of investment puts brands at risk of entering a ‘doom loop’, which occurs when slowing growth compels advertisers to optimise spending using potentially misleading attribution-based metrics, leading to long-term declines in growth and performance.

In this scenario, marketers face the challenge of balancing performance marketing with brand building to drive more sustainable returns as short-term mindsets pervade the industry.

Key quote

“Companies have generally shortened their planning horizons from 10- to 20-year thinking to 3- to 5-year survival strategies, as longer-term planning feels increasingly difficult to anticipate” – Edward Bell, General Manager of Brand, Insight and Marketing Communications at Cathay Pacific.