New Incubeta Research Reveals a "Confidence Paradox" Gripping Marketing: 70% of Leaders Are Confident, Yet Nearly Half Admit to Wasting Budget

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As marketing budgets swell, a dangerous new "Confidence Paradox" is taking hold in the industry, according to research released today by Incubeta, a leading global AI outcomes and digital marketing agency. The firm's new report, "The Marketer's Confidence Paradox," reveals that while an overwhelming 70% of marketing leaders are confident their budgets are deployed effectively, 41% simultaneously admit that a portion of their investment is failing to deliver its full value.

The firm's new report, "The Marketer's Confidence Paradox," reveals that while an overwhelming 70% of marketing leaders are confident their budgets are deployed effectively, 41% simultaneously admit that a portion of their investment is failing to deliver

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This high-stakes gamble is accelerating. The study, which surveyed CMOs and CEOs in the US and UK, found that with 74% of leaders increasing their budgets year-over-year, the cost of this disconnect is growing exponentially as they pour more money into a system acknowledged to be leaking.

The report identifies three core drivers of this widening gap:

• Fragmented Measurement as the Default: Only a third of marketers (34.4%) use a unified approach to measure both short- and long-term impact.
• Superficial AI Adoption: While belief in AI's potential is near-universal (77%), its application remains shallow.
• The "More is More" Fallacy: With budgets increasing, the underlying structural problems are not being fixed; they are simply being funded at a higher level.

"The confidence paradox exists because we focus on what we can control. We measure what's easy, even when we know deep down that our dashboards can't possibly be telling the whole truth," said Paul Ruscoe, VP of Marketing Intelligence, Incubeta. "The brands that win tomorrow will be the ones that recognize the decisions about goals and demand made upstream matter far more than the tactical adjustments made downstream."

This leaves the industry at a critical inflection point, where the traditional levers for growth are no longer the answer.

"What this research makes clear is that the next competitive advantage in marketing will not come from spending more or simply adopting the latest technology,” said Jacques van Niekerk, Global CEO, Incubeta. “It will come from having the foundations in place to truly understand what is working, what is not, and why."

To learn more about the state of marketing measurement and what organizations can do to improve marketing dollar ROI, download “The Marketer’s Confidence Paradox” here.

Resources:

• Outperform Solutions
• Tomorrow's World: 2026 Marketing Outlook
• Knowledge Base

About Incubeta

​Global marketing agency, Incubeta, empowers ambitious brands to harness marketing as a key driver of sustainable growth and long-term business success. With over two decades of experience and a global presence spanning 18 offices, Incubeta partners with leading brands like L’Oreal, ING, M&S, Les Mills, and Beiersdorf to transform complexity into clarity, drive innovation, prove value, and achieve measurable growth.

Through its Seamless Approach, Incubeta integrates creative, media, data, and technology to remove barriers that limit performance. This unified model enables brands to improve efficiency, elevate measurement, and generate stronger business outcomes.

More than just solving today’s challenges, Incubeta empowers businesses to outperform targets, exceed expectations, and outpace competitors. Discover how Incubeta redefines the possibilities of marketing at incubeta.com and follow them on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.