Traditional media is not dead, but the bar is higher than ever. When budgets get tight, the channels that cannot prove incremental lift get trimmed first. This data shows where marketers expect to cut and where they plan to hold steady. Use it to pressure-test your channel mix and measurement plan.

Essential Statistics

• Television: 68% plan to decrease spend, 19% keep the same, 13% increase.
• Radio: 88% plan to decrease spend, 7% keep the same, 5% increase.
• Print: 67% plan to decrease spend, 23% keep the same, 10% increase.
• Billboards: 48% plan to decrease spend, 46% keep the same, 6% increase.
• Radio is the most likely traditional channel to be cut (88% decreasing).
• Billboards are the most resilient traditional channel, with 46% holding spend flat.

Key Takeaways

• Traditional budgets are getting squeezed, so measurement has to be tighter than last year.
• Radio and print are the first places marketers expect to cut when reallocating dollars.
• Out-of-home is holding up better than other traditional formats, likely because it pairs well with geo and mobile lift studies.
• If you cannot tie traditional spend to incremental outcomes, it will be treated as a discretionary line item.
• Planning should assume more scrutiny on frequency, reach quality, and lift, not just impressions.
• Marketers keeping billboards flat suggests demand for awareness that can be validated with modern measurement.

Actionable Insights

• Defend any TV spend with a lift-based plan. With 68% expecting decreases, you need a clean test design (geo split or holdout) that proves incremental impact, not just reach.
• Rebuild radio as a targeted experiment, not a default buy. Since 88% plan to cut, focus on tight audiences, short flights, and clear conversion proxies (unique URLs, call tracking, or market-level lift).
• Make billboards measurable with location data. Because 46% are holding spend flat, pair OOH with store-visit lift, geo-fenced retargeting, or market-to-market comparisons to keep it funded.
• Shift print toward high-intent placements only. With 67% decreasing, treat print as a niche channel (trade pubs, high-income mags) and require a clear response mechanism (QR, vanity URL, offer code).
• Convert budget cuts into a reallocation narrative. Use these cut rates to justify moving dollars into channels where you can prove marginal ROI, then document the before/after impact to lock in future budgets.
• Audit your creative-to-channel fit before cutting. If a channel is underperforming, test new creative and offers first; cutting spend without fixing message-market fit can hide the real problem.

Traditional gets cut fastest when the only proof is reach. If you want to keep any of these channels funded, you have to attach them to incremental lift and a real measurement plan. – Neil Patel