Managing Resource Allocation in a Company’s Marketing Communications System

The digitalization of marketing activities expands the range of channels available for consumer interaction while making the allocation of limited resources between them more complex. This study aims to inform resource allocation across marketing communication channels by considering their estimated revenue-to-expenditure ratios and functional roles. The study uses expenditure data for 2023–2025 and estimates of revenue allocated to individual channels in 2025, supplied by a publishing company. The analysis examines expenditure trends and budget shares, calculates revenue-to-expenditure ratios, and codes four communication functions. Previously published findings on the 37.09% increase in communication expenditure and the shift towards SMM and PR provide the basis for further analysis. Based on the supplied estimates, revenue-to-expenditure ratios are 1.80 for SMM, PR, and contextual and targeted advertising, and 1.60 for sales promotion. These values do not measure channel profitability. Functional differences were assessed from activity descriptions covering information provision, purchase encouragement, ongoing audience interaction, and the development of image and trust. The proposed matrix combines the relative estimated revenue-to-expenditure ratio with functional breadth and identifies four provisional resource allocation options: consider an increase, maintain, optimize, or reconsider. The study contributes to the evaluation of marketing communications by considering a channel’s economic outcome together with its role within the broader communications system. The proposed matrix can support differentiated resource allocation decisions rather than decisions based on a single performance indicator. Its novelty lies in adapting portfolio analysis to marketing communication channels through explicit rules that combine a revenue-to-expenditure ratio with scores for four communication functions. The study is limited by its single-company setting, the unverified revenue allocation procedure, incomplete channel coverage, and the dependence of recommendations on functional scores and selected thresholds. Further research should test the matrix in companies with different communication structures and refine the criteria for resource allocation decisions. Article type: empirical.