“Do more with the same – and preferably with less.” That’s the key pressure facing B2B marketers across APAC in 2025–26, according to new research from B2B marketing consulting agency Green Hat and revenue intelligence platform 6sense.
As their new APAC B2B Marketing & AI Priorities Report 2025–26 reveals, there’s a growing disconnect between rising pipeline targets and stagnant budgets. While 41 per cent of APAC B2B marketers report higher revenue goals, 59 per cent are working with flat or reduced budgets – and only 37 per cent believe their current funding is enough to hit targets.
Yet instead of rethinking strategy, most marketers are responding by doubling down on familiar ground. Traditional demand generation, digital and content marketing still dominate spending, even when fresh funds are available.
Is there a better way forward? The report offers a clear message: even if APAC marketers can’t expand budgets, they can rethink how those budgets are spent. Shifting even modest resources towards longer-term levers like Account-Based Marketing (ABM) or AI could unlock more sustainable growth.
Read on to discover the five key takeaways B2B marketers need to know about now, and the role high-quality content can play in helping them address their challenges.
Brand building is the top priority, but not the top investment
It’s no secret that a strong brand helps B2B companies stand out and get shortlisted for new projects. In fact, the study found that 82 per cent of buyers choose the first vendor they engage with – and nearly all know the brand beforehand.
Yet, while most marketers ranked brand building as their most important factor for success, they’re still putting the lion’s share of their budgets into demand generation. Just 16 per cent of the marketers surveyed said they prioritise brand spending over demand generation, even though brand equity drives long-term pipeline growth and combats buyer indecision.
In response, marketers could consider integrating more brand building into their revenue-focused efforts. As the report suggests, think ‘brand plus demand’, and not just one or the other.
Account-based marketing still lags in APAC
ABM – that is, targeting high-value accounts as individual markets – is now considered standard practice in mature B2B markets like the US. But according to Green Hat and 6sense’s research, only 55 per cent of APAC marketers run ABM programs, compared to 77 per cent of their American counterparts.
Given that the average B2B buying group includes around 13 stakeholders, ABM remains one of the most effective ways to personalise outreach, influence entire decision-making units and align with how B2B decisions are really made. So why is a region so focused on growth lagging behind on this vital form of account-centric marketing?
The report suggests that despite recognising ABM as strategic, many APAC teams continue to favour short-term, performance-driven tactics like lead generation – largely because they’re easier to measure and justify in the face of rising pipeline pressures. It recommends shifting this mindset and reallocating budget towards longer-term programs that reflect the complexity of modern buying cycles.
AI is generating increasing interest but low investment
AI adoption is the buzzword of the moment, but is it being taken seriously in APAC B2B marketing budgets?
According to the report, while 80 per cent of marketers express confidence that adopting AI tools will boost productivity and support marketing goals, only 29 per cent have a dedicated AI budget. That’s well behind the US, where 52 per cent have already committed specific funding. The rest are either reallocating from existing budgets or not investing at all – signalling that for many, AI remains more of an experiment than a core strategy.
However, there is movement: AI is gaining traction in use cases like content personalisation, lead scoring and campaign optimisation – precisely the areas where many content marketers are under pressure to deliver more with less.
If marketers aren’t yet piloting AI in their content strategy, the study suggests that now’s the time. The report suggests starting small but moving fast, shifting from experimentation to operationalisation as soon as clear value is shown.
Is GEO the new SEO?
The research also highlights an emerging frontier for content strategists: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). With B2B buyers increasingly turning to large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to inform their early research and vendor shortlists, ensuring that their brand appears in AI-generated responses is becoming just as important as ranking in traditional SEO.
To win in this environment, marketers must start structuring their content for generative AI tools. That means creating clear, well-organised content – from articles to long-form thought leadership reports – alongside structured, machine-readable data that AI tools can easily reference and synthesise.
This has certainly been our experience at Editor Group, where we’re increasingly supporting clients with content that meets these criteria.
Localise brands to stay relevant
A final critical finding is that while many APAC brands are managed globally, buyers think locally. Whether it’s economic climate, business culture or language, relevance matters. If the content being produced doesn’t reflect regional realities, it risks missing the mark entirely.
To meet this challenge, marketers need to push for the localisation of their brand messaging. That way, they can ensure their content reflects the needs, nuances and language of the region’s decision-makers.
Again, this is something we see a good deal of at Editor Group, where our expert team works to transform copy from US English to British English or vice versa – and all flavours in between, including Australian. We consider spelling, grammar, idioms and cultural differences.
Quality content and smart reallocation is the way forward
The APAC B2B Marketing & AI Priorities Report paints a clear picture: the next 18 months will test the creativity and strategic thinking of B2B marketers more than ever. The main roadblock isn’t a lack of insight – it’s the disconnect between what marketers know drives long-term growth (brand, AI, ABM) and where their budgets are actually going.
For APAC teams, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The brands that win in 2025–26 won’t necessarily have the biggest budgets, they’ll be the ones spending smarter and crafting tailored content aligned with the evolving B2B landscape.
That means:
- using AI to speed up production, personalise messaging and optimise campaigns
- focusing on brand memorability to stay top of mind across long buying cycles
- structuring content for visibility across both search engines and generative AI platforms
- building high-quality ABM-ready content that speaks to full buying committees, not just known contacts
- localising brand messaging to stay relevant in diverse APAC markets.
In short, success doesn’t just come from spending more, but from reallocating smartly and creating top-quality content that works harder, stays relevant and lands with the right buyers at the right time.
By Melissa Devilliers
