5 key takeaways: Marketing Week’s The Language of Effectiveness Report 2026

Produced by Marketing Week, in partnership with Kantar and Google, the latest report in The Language of Effectiveness series shines a light on how the current economic climate is shaping marketers’ use of budgets.

Tighter budgets bring with them an expectation of instant results. But where does that leave the established principles of longer-term brand building? And can short-term efficiency be achieved without compromising effectiveness for the future?

1. Measurement is increasingly shaping strategy – but what is easiest to measure isn't always what is most effective.

With marketing budgets under increasing scrutiny, 71.7% of marketers say ease of measurement has directly influenced their budget allocation over the past year. That means greater investment in easily measurable channels and activity, with more marketers focusing on performance marketing than brand building.

Key takeaway: there is a risk that brands are investing in what is easiest to prove, rather than what will create the greatest long-term value. Measurement should support strategy – not define it.

2. Creative is recognised as a major driver of effectiveness, but marketers struggle to prove its value.

While 69% of marketers agree that creative is one of the most influential factors in marketing effectiveness, almost half (47.9%) lack a clear way to measure its impact. Over half also admit that they struggle to measure creative effectiveness.

Key takeaway: the challenge facing creative is not necessarily convincing people that it matters – it’s developing a clearer and more commercially meaningful way to demonstrate its value.

3. Brand and performance should have different roles – and therefore different measures of success.

Brand-building activity cannot, and should not, be judged against the same short-term metrics as performance activity. By focusing exclusively on lower-funnel, highly measurable activity, marketers risk underinvestment in brand growth that could have significant long-term consequences.

Key takeaway: rather than expecting every activity to deliver an immediate return, brands should agree whether its role is to drive short-term action, long-term brand growth, or both – and measure accordingly.

4. Protecting brand investment may require deliberate budget allocation.

One approach suggested in the report is to separate short-term activity from longer-term brand investment, allocating a specific portion of budget to each, rather than allowing easily measurable channels to absorb the majority of spend.

Key takeaway: brand-building budget should be ringfenced so that it doesn’t have to compete directly with activity that can demonstrate faster results, but not necessarily long-term growth and effectiveness.

5. The strongest case for creative investment combines evidence with commercial language.

There is no single metric that can fully capture creative effectiveness. Brands are using a mix of approaches including A/B testing, benchmarking, focus groups, testing work in progress, and AI-based creative testing.

However, measurement alone is not enough. 71.1% of marketers see a disconnect between how marketing and the wider business define effectiveness, with senior stakeholders tending to prioritise metrics, such as customer acquisition, ROI and business outcomes.

Key takeaway: to secure investment, creative and brand building need to be positioned as business investments, rather than marketing costs. This means building a stronger case for what brand and creative activity is designed to achieve, how its impact should be measured, and how it contributes to wider commercial growth.

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