44.9% of the 300 B2B marketers polled by Marketing Week find it difficult or very difficult to secure investment for brand building, according to the publication's exclusive State of Brand in B2B survey.

When asked what would change the equation, 38.9% cite a better understanding of brand building among CEOs and CFOs. A further 25.8% say their efforts would gain traction if senior leadership were less fixated on ROI.

The data exposes deeper structural issues inside B2B organisations. 58.3% of respondents believe conversations about brand spend would run more smoothly if their business recognised the value of marketing beyond short-term results. 55.1% want access to more robust effectiveness measurement, and 31.1% say a clearer grasp of existing data would help.

What role does seniority play?

Difficulties securing brand investment rise sharply with seniority. 52.5% of senior managers struggle to make the case, compared with 48.1% of marketing directors and vice-presidents and 30.5% of CMOs.

CMOs lead the call for C-suite education. 44.1% say securing spend would be easier if the CEO or CFO understood brand building, and 25.4% would benefit from less ROI fixation. 44.2% of marketing directors and 35.2% of senior managers back the same demand for CEO-level understanding.

Does company size change the picture?

Size sharpens the divide. 55.5% of marketers in B2B organisations with 250 or more employees find it hard to get brand spend approved, versus 35% of their SME peers.

Inside large firms, 40.9% want their CEO or CFO to better understand brand building, and 22.6% want ROI to carry less weight. 37% of SME marketers make the same call for C-suite education, with 28.8% pointing to over-emphasis on ROI.

Why is brand losing out internally?

The survey charts brand's secondary status inside many B2B businesses. 47.7% of respondents say brand building is not a budget priority within their organisation. 9% attribute this directly to a CEO or MD who does not believe in it — a figure that climbs to 11% in large B2B firms and sits at 6.3% in SMEs.

Scepticism runs through the layers below. 13.6% of CMOs, 12.2% of marketing directors and vice-presidents, and 5.6% of senior managers point to senior leadership disbelief as the reason brand building is deprioritised.

What other obstacles stand in the way?

The data points to a wider lack of conviction inside B2B firms. 40% of all respondents admit brand building is not seen as delivering ROI in their company. 33.8% call brand building too expensive, while 30.3% say their organisation fails to take a long-term view. The same 30.3% identify a culture that fundamentally does not value brand building.

For 25.5% the problem is more basic: there is no budget at all. 22.1% blame small team size, 13.8% cite a lack of expertise, and 5.5% see brand building itself as a risk.

What's next?

Marketing Week will publish further findings from the State of Brand in B2B research over the coming weeks, including the share of B2B firms planning to increase brand-building investment. The early data signals that closing the C-suite knowledge gap may matter more for unlocking brand budgets than any single measurement framework or media plan.