# roques-demand-led-marketing-budget-google-2025-10-02

## Veille

Dynamic ROI-driven marketing budgets, AI, performance measurement, CMO-CFO alignment - Think with Google

## Titre Article

Fixed marketing budgets are holding you back. Here's the fix

## Date

2025-10-02

## URL

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-emea/marketing-strategies/data-and-measurement/demand-led-marketing-budget-2026/

## Keywords

demand-led marketing, ROI, marketing budget flexibility, AI-powered marketing, marketing measurement, CFO-CMO alignment, budget agility, performance marketing, Customer Lifetime Value, marketing mix modeling, incrementality measurement, first-party data, 2026 budget planning

## Authors

Guillaume Roques (Senior Director of Marketing for Google Cloud EMEA)

## Ton

**Profile:** Professional | Authoritatively prescriptive | Educational-Promotional | Intermediate-Accessible

Roques adopts a hybrid corporate-conversational approach balancing business rigor and practitioner accessibility. Opens with relatable pain points ("I'm sure you're feeling the squeeze") before strategic frameworks. Data strategically deployed (20% conversions, 17% flexible budgets) without metric overload. Strongly prescriptive language ("you need to", "you should") positioning as advisor/playbook. Targets a dual CMO-CFO audience by balancing strategic philosophy with financially relevant KPIs. Typical Think with Google thought leadership aimed at decision-makers.

## Pense-betes

- Only 17% of companies have truly flexible marketing budgets
- UK advertisers could gain 20% additional conversions simply by being agile with their Search budgets
- Missing 30% of sales after 7pm due to lack of budget is equivalent to "closing the store early on a big sale day"
- Only 22% of CMOs describe their relationship with the CFO as "truly collaborative"
- 77% of marketing analytics professionals report increased pressure to prove ROI
- Paradigm shift: from "can we have more budget" to "can we afford to miss sales at our target ROI"
- AI is not just an efficiency tool but the strategic engine of demand-driven budgeting
- Performance Max, AI Max for Search, and Demand Gen as key solutions
- Three pillars: common language with finance, robust impact measurement, AI as strategic engine

## RésuméDe400mots

Guillaume Roques, senior marketing director for Google Cloud EMEA, presents a fundamental transformation of marketing budgets for 2026: moving away from fixed annual envelopes in favor of dynamic investments driven by demand and ROI.

**The problem with fixed budgets**

Traditional marketing budgets create a destructive paradox: the best-performing campaigns hit their budget ceilings, preventing brands from capturing all available demand. Only 17% of companies have truly flexible budgets, while data shows that UK advertisers could gain 20% additional conversions in Search simply by adopting budget agility. Sophie Neary, managing director at Google, illustrates the absurdity: missing 30% of sales after 7pm due to budget exhaustion is equivalent to closing the store during peak hours.

**Changing the conversation with CFOs**

The key lies in reframing the dialogue with finance departments. Instead of asking for more budget, marketers must pose the question: "can we afford to miss sales at our target ROI?" This reformulation transforms marketing from a cost center into an investment driver. Scott Sinclair points out that CFOs fully understand the logic: if Search demand exists and ROI is under control, spending to capture all of it is a rational financial decision.

**Three pillars for implementation**

**1. Speaking the same language:** Marketers must abandon marketing-centric metrics (impressions, clicks) in favor of financially relevant KPIs: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), marginal ROI, overall profitability. Currently, only 22% of CMOs describe their relationship with the CFO as "truly collaborative."

**2. Proving impact through robust measurement:** With 77% of analytics professionals reporting increased pressure to prove ROI, comprehensive measurement becomes critical. This includes: using Marketing Mix Models (MMM) such as Meridian for top-down analysis; leveraging Google Analytics for full customer journey tracking; recovering unobserved conversions; and conducting incrementality experiments (Brand Lift, Conversion Lift) to demonstrate additional sales.

**3. Using AI as a strategic engine:** AI is not just an efficiency tool but the very foundation of demand-driven budgeting. Google's AI-powered solutions (Performance Max, AI Max for Search, Demand Gen) optimize campaigns in real time, identifying converting customers across all channels. Powered by robust first-party data, these tools increase reach and conversions, ensuring the budget is deployed where it generates the best returns.

**Models for success**

Brands successfully transitioning to demand-led marketing share common traits: flexible budgets, well-defined audiences, and robust measurement systems that fuel their "AI flywheel." These companies prove their value to finance teams in real time, transforming marketing from cost management into a growth unlock.

The core message: marketing success in 2026 depends on adopting this ROI- and demand-driven investment model, rather than defending fixed budget allocations.

## GrapheDeConnaissance

- Guillaume Roques —publie→ Fixed marketing budgets are holding you back (DOCUMENT, 0.99)
- Guillaume Roques —travaille_chez→ Google Cloud EMEA (ORGANISATION, 0.99)
- Budget marketing fixe —réduit→ capture de la demande disponible (CONCEPT, 0.97)
- Demand-led marketing —remplace→ budget marketing fixe (CONCEPT, 0.95)
- Guillaume Roques —affirme_que→ les annonceurs britanniques gagneraient 20% de conversions supplémentaires avec l'agilité budgétaire (AFFIRMATION, 0.93)
- Sophie Neary —affirme_que→ manquer 30% des ventes après 19h équivaut à fermer boutique un jour de soldes (AFFIRMATION, 0.9)
- Scott Sinclair —affirme_que→ dépenser pour capturer la demande est rationnel si ROI maîtrisé (AFFIRMATION, 0.88)
- Guillaume Roques —recommande→ KPI financièrement pertinents (CONCEPT, 0.92)
- Meridian —s_applique_à→ Marketing Mix Modeling (METHODOLOGIE, 0.9)
- Performance Max —améliore→ campagnes publicitaires en temps réel (CONCEPT, 0.92)
- IA —est_instance_de→ Demand-led marketing (CONCEPT, 0.93)
- First-party data —permet→ flywheel IA (CONCEPT, 0.88)
- CMO —collabore_avec→ CFO (CONCEPT, 0.85)
- Google Analytics —permet→ suivi complet du parcours client (CONCEPT, 0.88)

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Canonical: https://www.thekb.eu/en/fiches/roques-demand-led-marketing-budget-google-2025-10-02/