What’s a Common Budget Strategy in Traditional Marketing Organizations?

Wondering what a traditional budget strategy is in traditional marketing organizations? There is no need to stress that a lot of new marketers and business owners are eager to know how big brands or old-fashioned companies arrange their marketing budget. And guess what? When you take it down, it is not that complicated.

This guide will take you through the way traditional businesses manage their marketing budgets, the strategies employed by them, and how you can study their strategies. We are also going to discuss some of the most recent statistics and provide you with some tips that you can implement in your own business even in case you are still in the first steps. Let’s dive in step by step.

What Is a Marketing Budget Strategy?

We should first define what a marketing budget strategy entails before discussing what traditional companies can do. A marketing budget strategy is a strategy for the amount of money to be used in overall marketing. It also reveals the distribution of that money i.e. in ads, billboards, radio, TV, events, or printing materials. The idea is quite easy: use your money wisely and achieve the greatest benefits.

What’s a Common Budget Strategy in Traditional Marketing Organizations?

What is a typical budget approach of the traditional marketing organizations then? It is the Percentage of Revenue Method. This implies that business organizations allocate a certain percentage of their gross income to marketing. The amount of revenue used by most businesses is between 5-10 percent, which varies on the size of the business and the industry.

For example:

• The retail firms with revenue of $1 million may invest in marketing of 70,000 (7%) of the revenue.
• The manufacturing companies can decide to cut their costs, e.g. 4% of revenue.

This is one of the most popular strategies since spending is kept down to a minimum and it increases with the growth of the company.

Why Do Traditional Companies Use This Strategy?

This is the reason why conservative marketing organizations have remained using the percentage of revenue method:

1. Easy to Track: It is easy to compute as well as adjust. All you have to do is take a slice of your overall income.

2. Scales Automatically: As revenue increases, there will certainly be an increase in the budget. When the sales are decrease, the expenditure reduces as well. In essence marketing budget is directly proportional to the total revenue.

3. Keeps ROI in Focus: It is a reminder that businesses should spend the amount within the anticipated returns.

4. Helps With Planning: The revenue numbers tend to be known in advance and thus it assists in better planning of campaigns.

How Do They Divide That Budget?

So now you may say, well, they use a percentage, but what happens to that money? that is the question. Let me explain it first. Statista (2024) and a handful of other popular survey reports state that, even now, the classic companies spend in the following areas:

• TV ads – 36%
• Print ads (newspapers, magazines) – 23%
• Radio ads – 8%
• Outdoor (billboards, transit) – 15%
• Events/Sponsorships – 9%
• Direct mail – 10%

These numbers may vary, but the structure stays similar.

Real-Life Example: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is among the largest conventional marketing powerhouses. In 2024, they had nearly $4.5 billion expended on marketing globally. Although they have moved some of them to digital which was a very good step, a good percentage of them still go to TV, print and sponsorships. They adhere to a mixed-budget policy:

• A percentage of revenue that is fixed.
• Thereafter, distribute according to geographic, seasonal, and product orientation.

This mixed style ensures that they remain flexible and at the same time remain within their budget framework.

Pros and Cons of the Traditional Budgeting Strategy

Pros:

• Simple and easy, clear to use
• Scales naturally with growth
• Keeps spending realistically
• Easy for CFOs and finance teams to approve

Cons:

• Does not always consider market changes
• Can limit innovation
• May ignore digital shifts and trends

It is therefore really good at control but might not suit well when you are venturing new channels or experimenting with ideas but you can know what your competitors did using SWOT analysis.

Are There Other Budgeting Strategies?

Yes, the conventional organizations can also attempt these:

1. Objective-Based Budgeting: They do this by initially setting objectives, say, 1,000 new leads, and then in various ways, examining how much money it will require to achieve that objective, which will assist you in determining the marketing budget.

2. Competitive Parity: There are instances where they equal the marketing investment of their largest competitors. This works in sectors where the presence of the ads is important.

3. Affordable Method: This is just the reverse of the strategy. The companies simply use whatever they have left after the other expenses. It is not the perfect thing, but it is typical of small businesses. Nevertheless, the most effective percentage of revenue strategy is still the most widespread in the conventional arrangements.

How to Use This Strategy for Your Business?

Now let’s talk about you. What can you do with this to your brand or company?

Step 1: Know Your Revenue: When you are getting 10,000 a month, and want to spend 5-10 percent of that on marketing. So that will be $500 to $1,000.

Step 2: Pick Your Channels: In case you are more offline oriented (such as events or flyers), you can split up your budget in:

• 40% print media
• 30% events
• 20% radio
• 10% backup/testing

When you are mixing with digital, then adjust it.

Step 3: Measure & Adjust: Always track your return. Are flyers bringing in leads? Are local radio ads helping? Otherwise, consider changing your strategy on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Latest Data on Traditional Marketing Budgets (2024-2025)

According to recent reports from HubSpot and Forrester:

• Even with major corporations, 63 percent of them continue to spend over fifty percent of the budget on conventional marketing.
  
• Nevertheless, 47% intend to cut their print budgets in 2025 to move more towards digital-first.
  
• The open rate of direct mail is surprisingly high, 29 percent, as compared to the majority of email messages.

While digital is rising, traditional is not dead. It just needs smart budgeting.

Quick Comparison: Traditional vs. Digital Budget Plans

Feature	Traditional	Digital
Base Plan	% of revenue	Flexible, test-based
Channels	TV, print, radio	Social media, SEO, email
Tracking	Harder	Easier
Use Case	Big, steady brands	Startups, online businesses

Final Thoughts

What, then, is an average budget plan within the normal marketing entities? It is nothing but spending a predetermined percentage of revenue with less emphasis on CPL etc. and doing the same at least with established avenues such as TV, radio, and print, simply because of brand recognition. This is an old-school strategy which should not be overlooked, even by running an ordinary business or those who are now acquiring the knowledge of marketing. It is easy, consistent and easy to contro,l particularly when dealing with a fixed monthly turnover.

Just remember:

• Keep it flexible
• Track results
• And always adjust based on what works

It does not imply traditional outdated or old school strategies. It just means experienced. You can learn a lot from it. At Tech Trick Solutions, we simplify all concepts in such a way that you will learn easily and become smarter.