Boo!-dget Season Is Upon Us: A Haunted Tour of CMO Budgeting Tales

October 2025

It’s that spooky season when the winds howl, the CFOs cackle, and CMOs huddle nervously over flickering spreadsheets, hoping their budget proposals don’t get slashed like the cast of a B-grade horror flick.

Yes, it’s budget season, and while some marketers are conjuring up growth spells, others are dodging finance’s silver bullets. In October, we summoned the bravest CMOs and one wise Forrester analyst to share budgeting tips, tricks, and terrifying truths from the fiscal crypt.

Here are 7 hair-raising highlights below.

1. Attack of the People-Heavy Budget

Some CMOs are haunted by bloated headcount ratios. When people costs creep up to 70%, program spend gets buried alive. “We’re very high on people,” one CMO shared, “but without enough program dollars, I worry we’re not fueling the funnel effectively.”

Another chimed in: “You don’t want a team sitting idle because there’s no budget to activate their ideas.” Beware the zombie budget—plenty of bodies, but no momentum.

2. The Shape-Shifting Budget Mix

Like a werewolf at full moon, your budget mix should evolve with your environment. One CMO shared a current allocation of 50% people, 20% tech, and 30% programs, but is aiming for “a third, a third, a third.”

Why? To get more productivity from a leaner, tech-enabled team. “It’s a misalignment issue,” they explained. “I want a more productive team enabled by better tools.” Translation: Don’t be afraid to stake outdated structures through the heart.

3. Early-Stage Startups and the Budget of the Living Demand

Startups may not have mummies in their closets, but they do have demand generation to resurrect. At this stage, it’s all about programs over people. “We’re at 65% programs because we need awareness and demand—fast,” said one CMO building a budget from the ground up.

Forrester’s Craig Moore confirmed, “Stage of company growth should directly influence where dollars go. Don’t force-fit a mature model on an early-stage business.” Different monsters, different weapons.

4. Forecasts from the Crypt

One of the most chilling tales involved budget planning based on not one—but three conflicting forecasts. “I had three different forecasts—one from finance, one from HR, and one from sales,” said a frazzled CMO. “None of them matched.”

Another CMO revealed how one bad ARR assumption caused a budget to balloon like a cursed jack-o’-lantern. Craig Moore’s advice? “Before building your marketing budget, lock the growth assumptions. Garbage in, garbage out.”

5. The Oracle's Curse: Treat Budgeting as Strategy, Not Sorcery

Forget the crystal ball. The best CMOs treat budgets as strategic roadmaps, not mysterious prophecies. “We’re asked to justify spending based on what we can deliver,” said one. “So we reverse-engineered the budget from revenue goals.”

Another added, “Forecasting is a conversation, not a one-way mandate.” The real magic? Showing what your team can conjure with more resources—and what spells to abandon when dollars vanish.

6. The Phantom Million-Dollar Question

A terrifying moment for any marketer: When the CFO asks, “If we gave you more budget, what would you do with it?” Thankfully, our Huddlers came prepared. “We know our best-performing channel is paid search,” said one. “Every dollar there returns multiples in pipeline and revenue.”

Another added, “It’s not always about headcount. Sometimes it’s tools that help us move faster.” The moral? Never walk into the finance chamber without a silver bullet (and your CAC-to-LTV ratio).

7. The Fractured Budget Frankenstein

In some companies, marketing budgets are stitched together like Frankenstein’s monster—with different limbs owned by sales, product, and finance. “I own B2B marketing and report into Sales. Meanwhile, product marketing, PR, and creative report to product,” said one exasperated CMO. “We have separate budgets and no single CMO.”

Another added, “You can’t optimize what you can’t see.” Let this be a cautionary tale: when your marketing budget is buried in different graveyards, no one escapes the confusion.

Budget season doesn’t have to be scary—especially when you’re armed with wisdom from your fellow Huddlers. Whether you’re braving zero-based budgets, trying to summon program dollars, or exorcising legacy tech, remember: You’re not alone.

🎃 Something Wickedly Good This Way Comes

If you’re ready for fresh inspiration (and a few marketing treats), don’t miss the CMO Super Huddle next week in Palo Alto.

The Strategy Lab and Dinner are sold out, but CMOs can still:

Join the 11/6 Welcome Reception (open to all CMOs)
Snag one of the final 3 tickets for the Nov 7 main event

Expect bold ideas from Udi Ledergor, Denise Persson, and Chris Degnan, and lightning-fast PechaKuchas from top GenAI innovators. Plus:

Kevin Ruane, CMO of Precisely, and Melinda Wilken of Firebrick on how a bold rebrand reignited growth and clarified market position.
Janet Jaiswal on how Webless is helping Blueshift (and CMO Huddles) turn static websites into dynamic pipeline and growth engines via generative search.
Sharad Verma, CEO of Vidoso, on how AI-powered ad generation is helping marketers move faster and create smarter.

Grab your seat before it vanishes: www.cmohuddles.com/super-huddle