Hot Topic: Dreaming Big: What Marketers Really Want in Their Budgets

When marketing professionals are asked what they’d include in their dream budget, the answers reveal more than just wishful thinking—they expose the real gaps, aspirations and strategic priorities that shape the future of marketing teams. After gathering candid responses from colleagues across firms, three clear themes emerged: media creation, martech infrastructure and team development.

Media and Content Creation: Elevating Brand Storytelling

Marketers are craving the tools and talent to produce high-quality, engaging content. From video production to photography, the desire to visually showcase firm culture and expertise is strong.

• JoLayna Arndt (JLK Rosenberger) dreams of hiring a professional producer, videographer and editor to coach CPAs so they “sound and look on camera as smart and genius as they are IRL.”
• Allie Blessing (Mauldin & Jenkins) envisions a fully funded in-house media studio with top-tier equipment and a dedicated content team to produce podcasts, video series and client education materials in real time.
• Sam Crist (Blue and Co.) wants a custom photography project featuring employees and clients to humanize the brand.
• Julie James (Stern Cohen) adds a creative twist, imagining a multimedia specialist to create video, photography and graphic design.
• Katie Thomas (Leaders Online) envisioned a national-level brand platform for accountants, complete with Netflix-quality video series, omnichannel distribution, AI-driven personalization, and experiential marketing. Her goal: to elevate the profession’s storytelling and build lasting brand trust.

These ideas reflect a growing recognition that compelling content isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential for differentiation and engagement.

Martech & Data Analytics: Empowering Smarter Execution

Marketing teams are eager to upgrade their technology stacks to streamline operations, improve data analytics and unlock new capabilities. From CRM systems to AI tools, the wish list reflects a desire for smarter, more integrated platforms and better data.

• Becca Johns, a marketing and growth consultant, puts it simply: “I’d spend my unlimited budget on clean data—perfectly clean, seamlessly integrated, perpetually updated.” She sees this as the key to focusing on impactful work and unlocking scalable growth.
• Chris O’Day (LGA) wants access to top-of-the-line intent marketing data tools to better understand who is looking for services.
• Allie Blessing also proposes a data and benchmarking portal where clients can compare KPIs against peers—powered by custom research.
• Ryen Salo (Herbein) dreams of hiring a data engineer to integrate all existing tools for seamless functionality.
• Taylor Bartosiewicz (Yeo & Yeo) wants to learn more about AI, increasing her budget to include tools like the paid versions of ChatGPT or Perplexity as well as Jasper or Claude.
• Cameron Roberts (Resound Creative) wants to work one-on-one with a CRM expert to optimize their system for efficiency and better business development outcomes.
• Jeshanah (Brown Plus) and Ryen Salo (Herbein) both emphasized the need for specialists—whether in CRM or data engineering—to ensure tools work seamlessly together.
• Alice Grey Harrison (AGH Consulting Group) calls for dedicated internal communications expenses, noting that internal content often takes a backseat to go-to-market efforts. “Whether it’s an employee advocacy tool, intranet design or email platform, we need tools outside of the Microsoft suite to help our internal content receive the attention it deserves. SnapComms is my favorite internal tool.”
• Margo Anderson (Larson & Company) shared that she would invest in a retainer for an on-call HubSpot specialist to make adjustments to CRM workflows, functionality, and data—fixing known issues without the time drain of figuring them out solo.
• Maria Gambacorta (Lumsden & McCormick) shared that her dream investment would be an automated integration between new business, time and billing, and their CRM (HubSpot)—a move that would streamline operations and reduce manual effort.
• Caren Rodriguez (DMJPS) said she’d “triple down” on the tech budget, upgrading HubSpot, adding consulting hours, and expanding access to other platforms. She also joked that when it comes to building a new website, “can there be no budget?”

These responses show that martech isn’t just about having tools—it’s about having the right tools and data, configured and supported to drive meaningful results.

Strategic Team Expansion: Investing in People

Many marketers expressed a desire to grow their teams thoughtfully, bringing in specialists to support key functions and elevate overall performance.

• Laura Metz (HCVT) shares a heartfelt vision: “I would love to elevate the team we currently have and bring in other great minds… one person to support events, one for proposals and one to drive martech.” Her goal is to create a strategy-rich environment where generalists can thrive.
• Jeshanah and Cameron Roberts both advocate for CRM specialists to improve efficiency and client experience.
• JoLayna, Julie and Allie all wished for another creative on their team to help with multi-media content creation.

These comments reflect a broader trend: marketing leaders want to build agile, well-supported teams that can execute with precision and creativity.

Bonus: Aspirational & Fun Ideas

Of course, no wish list is complete without a few playful dreams:

• Apoorv Dwivedi (Fixyr) floated an NFL sponsorship “not saying it’s a good choice or ROI, but would be a lot of fun!”
• Cameron Roberts joked about buying everyone at Resound a Lamborghini.
• Julie James imagined ping pong and foosball tables in a fun lunchroom plus daily yoga and fitness classes.

These lighthearted ideas remind us that while budgets are serious business, dreaming big can spark innovation and team spirit.

Final Thought

Whether it’s investing in media, martech or people, these wish list items reveal what marketers truly value—and where they see the greatest potential for impact. As budget planning season approaches, these insights can help guide more strategic, meaningful investments that empower teams and elevate brands.