CMO And CCO Budgets Rise In 2026 As Workload Grows

Something feels a little off right now inside marketing and communications teams. On paper, things are improving. Budgets are up. Confidence is holding. There is more recognition that this work matters to the business.

But talk to people doing the work, and you hear something different. It feels heavier. New research from The Conference Board puts numbers behind that tension. CMOs and CCOs are more positive about their budgets than they were a year ago. At the same time, they are feeling more stretched, not less.

Half of CMOs now say they have the budget they need to make an impact. That is up from 40 percent last year. CCOs are seeing movement too, with 33 percent saying they feel well-equipped, up from 23 percent.

That is real progress. It suggests companies are starting to invest more seriously in both marketing and communications. But here is the part that stands out.

“Alongside the sharp improvement in budgets, the latest CMO+CCO Meter found that workload is a growing challenge for marketing and communications,” said Denise Dahlhoff, Head of Research, Marketing & Communications Center, The Conference Board. “Compared to last June, satisfaction regarding workload fell 6 points among CMOs to 51% and a whopping 20 points among CCOs to just 34%, with AI, expectations, and market conditions all playing a role. That said, around 4 in 5 leaders across both fields remain happy or very happy in their work.”

That drop is hard to ignore. Even as resources improve, the workload is getting tougher. More channels. More scrutiny. More expectation to connect the work directly to business outcomes. There is also an interesting shift in how impact is being seen inside organizations.

“Overall, the business impact of communications slipped in the second half of 2025 and start of 2026, likely reflecting a calmer external environment,” said Ivan Pollard, Leader, Marketing & Communications Center, The Conference Board. “When asked to assess the perspective of their CEO, 54% of CCOs said that communications' perceived impact on the business grew over the last six months, down 14 points from a recent peak of 69% in March 2025. Meanwhile, marketing's perceived business impact rose in the latest survey, with almost 7 out of 10 CMOs believing their CEO has seen the marketing team's impact increase or increase significantly in the last six months.”

Marketing seems to be gaining momentum with CEOs right now. Communications is still seen as important, but maybe less front and center than it was during more volatile periods.

Inside teams, there is another pressure point that keeps coming up. Fewer leaders feel like they have the team they need. Just 42 percent of CMOs and 35 percent of CCOs say they feel well-supported on that front.

So even with better budgets and more tools, the work is still landing on lean teams. And yet, people are not walking away.

Most CMOs and CCOs still say they are happy in their roles. That says a lot. The work is demanding, but it is also meaningful. It is visible. It matters.

What this really points to is a shift in the role itself. More investment is coming in. Expectations are rising just as fast. AI is changing how the work gets done. And the pressure to prove impact is not going anywhere.

So the question is not whether marketing and communications have a seat at the table. It is whether the way the work is structured today actually makes that seat sustainable.