What are Australian marketers prioritizing in 2026?
We asked 500 Australian marketers to share what they’re really thinking – not what they say out loud in board meetings or post on LinkedIn, but their honest thoughts, wins, and struggles for our Secret lives of marketers report.
The results show that increasing sales and revenue, improving customer retention, and making better use of data and analytics are among the biggest priorities for Australian marketers.
But, like their peers elsewhere, they’re also navigating rapid industry change, new AI tools, and plenty of pressure to prove marketing’s value.
There’s a positive story in the fact that Australian marketers are largely getting more budget, which can mean more opportunities, but can also mean more decisions about where to invest and what to prioritize, and more pressure to get results.
We wanted to find out what’s getting Australian marketers’ attention this year, where they’re still running into roadblocks, and how they’re feeling about their careers overall.
This is how we did it
We surveyed 500 Australian marketers aged 18+ between May 20 and June 1, 2026, and Censuswide conducted the survey.
Key findings
If you’re short on time, here are the key findings you need to know about Australian marketers.
1. Email and CRM marketing delivers the best returns
Australian marketers name email and CRM marketing as their top channel for ROI, even though it ranks eleventh among their current channel priorities.
2. Small marketing teams are common
40% of Australian marketers work in a team of 2-4 people, while a further 36% are the sole marketer for their business.
3. Data privacy is the biggest challenge
26% of Australian marketers say managing data privacy and compliance is one of their biggest challenges.
4. AI is speeding up marketing work
63% of Australian marketers say AI speeds up their work, while 35% say it makes their job easier.
5. Australian marketers feel secure, but there’s still some uncertainty
93% of Australian marketers feel secure in their current role, compared with 97% in the US and 90% in the UK.
How are Australian marketers set up for success?
Let’s look at team sizes, budgets, and ways of working.
Team sizes
Small teams are particularly common in Australia, with 40% of marketers working in a team of 2-4 people and 36% are the sole marketer for their business.
Australian marketing team size split
- Team of one: 36%
- Team of 2-4: 40%
- Team of 5-10: 24%
- Team of 10+: less than 1%
This year’s survey also found that 45% of Australian marketing teams have more managers than non-manager roles and 40% have an equal split between managers and non-managers.
Australian marketing budgets
Budgets are looking pretty healthy for Australian marketers this year. 86% say their marketing budget increased over the past 12 months, and 88% expect it to increase again over the next 12 months.
The budget changes for Australian marketers were split like this:
- 36% saw a budget increase of less than 10%
- 50% saw a budget increase of 10-24%
- 12% saw their budget stay the same
- 2% saw a budget decrease
So, while teams remain relatively small, most marketers have more budget to work with.
How are Australian marketers using AI?
AI adoption is almost universal among Australian marketers; only 0.6% say they don’t use AI in their role.
So, of those marketers using it, how are they finding it?
- 63% of Australian marketers say ‘AI speeds up my work’
- 35% say ‘AI makes my job easier’
- 33% say ‘I enjoy using AI’
- 29% say ‘AI helps me be more creative’
That suggests AI is already having a practical impact for many Australian marketers, particularly when it comes to getting work done faster. But, as with the other markets, adoption doesn’t automatically mean AI is solving every problem.
Compared to almost 100% of marketers using it, only around a third say it makes their job easier or helps them be more creative.
Do Australian marketers trust AI?
When it comes to trust, 93% trust AI outputs to some degree, but almost half still want to check what they’re getting back:
- 44% of Australian marketers fully trust AI outputs without verifying
- 49% trust them but always fact-check
When we asked marketers which AI outputs they spend the most time fact-checking or editing, 22% said statistics and research, 21% said reporting that uses their own data, and 19% said checking AI-generated images.
What’s the LLM of choice for Australian marketers?
ChatGPT is also the preferred LLM among Australian marketers, with Gemini and Copilot following behind.
Australian marketers’ top three preferred LLMs:
- ChatGPT: 34%
- Gemini: 21%
- Copilot: 12%
Where are Australian marketers focusing?
The top five focuses for Australian marketers are:
- Increasing sales/revenue from marketing: 29%
- Improving customer retention and loyalty: 28%
- Better use of data and analytics to inform decisions: 28%
- Growing marketing contacts database: 26%
- Creating more engaging content (including video): 24%
When it comes to the channels that Australian marketers are prioritizing to hit these goals, they are:
- Website personalization: 32%
- Content marketing (blogs, video, guides): 32%
- Organic search (SEO and GEO): 27%
- Mobile (SMS, MMS, WhatsApp): 24%
- Events and webinars: 24%
If website personalization is something you’re focusing on, check out how Dotdigital can help here.
Which marketing channel has the highest ROI in Australia?
There’s a clearer winner when it comes to ROI in Australia. Email and CRM marketing comes out comfortably on top, even though it sits much lower down the channel-priority list, in eleventh place.
Australian marketers’ top five channels for ROI:
- Email/CRM marketing: 22%
- Paid social: 16%
- Organic/content marketing: 15%
- Mobile marketing: 15%
- App push notifications: 12%
Email ranks eleventh among Australian marketers’ channel priorities, despite being the clear leader for ROI. It’s worth asking: does your marketing strategy and prioritization match the potential returns from the channels?
What are the biggest challenges for Australian marketers?
Here are the five biggest challenges for Australian marketers, with some advice on how to deal with them if you’re facing them too.
1. 26% struggle to keep up with data privacy and compliance
Keeping up with data privacy is important, but not always the most fun marketing job. Look for tools with built-in privacy and compliance features that make it easier to manage permissions and keep customer data protected.
2. 25% struggle to keep up with changing customer behavior
Use customer behavioral data, like browsing and purchase history, to spot shifts early and adjust your segments so that your audience is always getting relevant messaging.
3. 25% say the industry is changing too fast
Industry changes are inevitable, so stay connected with others in the industry and tap into our community to swap learnings, share ideas, and remind yourself you’re not navigating it alone. Keep an eye on our events page for upcoming webinars and local events, or join the conversation in the comments on our social posts.
4. 24% struggle to prove their impact to the wider business
Being able to connect marketing activity to revenue makes those conversations much easier. Look for tools and reporting that give you a clear view of customer journeys and revenue attribution.
5. 20% feel burnt out or at risk of burning out soon
Burnout is a bigger challenge than just workload. Make space for your team to step back, share the load, and have honest conversations about what’s realistic. The latest tools can help with efficiency, but they shouldn’t become another thing marketers feel they need to keep up with.
How can marketing leaders support their teams?
These challenges are pretty evenly spread, but several are linked to the pace of change across the industry. Make sure your team has the space to adapt, learn new skills, try new things, and raise concerns when something isn’t working.
And it’s worth paying attention to that burnout stat alongside the more practical challenges. Marketers can learn new tools and adapt to industry changes, but it’s much harder to do that well when they’re already stretched too thin.
Which brings us nicely to the longer-term result of all of this data: how many marketers actually see themselves staying in the industry?
How are Australian marketers feeling about their career and industry?
93% of Australian marketers feel secure in their current role, sitting between the UK (90%) and US (97%). That’s encouraging, although job security only tells us part of the story about how people feel at work.
A snapshot of Australian marketers’ career sentiment
- 31% of Australian marketers say they plan to stay in marketing long-term
- 25% plan to stay in marketing, but change specialism
- 12% are open to leaving
- 17% are actively considering leaving
- 14% plan to leave marketing within 12 months
Among those considering leaving, 24% say the reason is job security concerns, 23% say it’s because of better opportunities elsewhere, and 19% cite workload and burnout.
What this means for you
Australian marketers are feeling positive about what they can achieve
81% of Australian marketers are optimistic they’ll hit their goals this year, with a further 17% feeling neutral. And with 86% seeing their marketing budget increase over the past year, there’s more room to put those plans into action.
Here are some next steps you can take based on the findings of this survey.
Make more of what’s already working
Email and CRM marketing is the channel Australian marketers say delivers the best ROI, yet it ranks eleventh among their current channel priorities. There could be an opportunity here to look at where your strongest returns are coming from and check whether your investment reflects that.
Keep the human in the loop
AI is now part of almost every Australian marketer’s toolkit, with 99% currently using it. But trust still comes with a caveat: 49% trust AI outputs but always fact-check them. The marketers getting the most from AI may be the ones using it to speed up their work while keeping their own expertise and judgment in the mix.
If you want to hear a cautionary tale (and have a good laugh), check out our marketing AI fails blog to see what went wrong and how to avoid the same pitfalls.
Don’t overlook the people behind the marketing
93% of Australian marketers feel secure in their current role, but 17% are actively considering leaving marketing and another 14% plan to leave within the next 12 months.
For marketing leaders, that’s a reminder that keeping talented people engaged matters just as much as keeping up with the latest tools.
Want to see the full picture?
These are just some of the findings from The secret lives of marketers report. Read the full report to see how Australian marketers compare with their UK and US peers, and explore what the data reveals about AI, budgets, career confidence, marketing priorities, and the challenges facing teams today.
