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  • REPORT

    Tapping into the Attention Economy

    The State of PR & Marketing in a World Where Attention is Now Currency

    Channel V Media analyzed how 250 marketing executives are competing for attention in 2026—and what’s actually working. Download Now

In a crowded media environment, attention is currency.

It wasn’t long ago that a finite number of media outlets owned people’s attention.

Getting a slice of that attention meant getting in with the media, which was pretty much a matter of “who you know.”

Now, there’s more media channels and content than ever. The barriers to reaching the masses have lowered, which can make it seem like there are almost as many people creating content as there are consuming it.

As a company, getting attention in this kind of environment is incredibly challenging.

It’s no longer about who you know (because you can’t possibly know everyone). It’s about getting the right narratives in front of the right audiences. And from there, sustaining their attention over time.

The companies and brands that can do this have the potential to influence audiences’ perspectives and behaviors.

And that’s why the ability to get attention has become a currency that’s even more valuable than having a good product or offering.

Where Americans are Placing their Attention

  • 450K+

    active podcasts in the U.S.

    The Wall Street Journal

  • 6 Million

    blog posts are published daily across the U.S.

    Backlink.io

  • 35 Million

    videos are shared on TikTok every day

    TikTok

  • 500 Hours

    of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute

    YouTube

  • 50%

    of X users regularly get their
    news there

    Pew Research Center


Attention deficit? Not if marketers can help it.


Channel V Media set out to determine how the attention economy is influencing marketers’ budgets and strategies.

Marketers are in a race to meet people where they are. We wanted to understand how much they’re investing to do it, which channels they’re prioritizing, and how they’re making the most of the attention they capture.

To accomplish this, we talked to 250 marketing executives that invest in a variety of media and marketing channels to reach their buying audiences.

Here are five ways marketers are navigating the attention economy.

Marketers are spending more than ever to win attention.

Breaking through takes budget–and a majority of marketers are spending more every year.

Companies can’t be everywhere that their audiences are-but they are trying.

Audiences are scattered. To keep up, marketers are dividing their budgets across an average of seven channels.

Differentiation is as big a pain point as lead generation and customer acquisition.

In a sea of offerings that look and sound the same, what keeps marketers up at night is communicating how they’re different.

Being the best now takes a backseat to being known.

In industries like professional services and technology, where competing offerings often sound similar, recognition matters more than performance.

PR has evolved from powering companies’ visibility to fueling their viability.

PR is central to how a brand is perceived, positioned and remembered. In an environment where differentiation is more important than acquisition, this marketing channel is critical.

See Respondents Snapshot
and Report Methodology


Marketers are increasing spend because standing still means losing attention.

In the attention economy, marketing can’t be a cost center.
It must drive value.

Companies across every size and sector recognize marketing as a critical driver of growth, not merely a line item.

Bar chart showing annual marketing spend distribution. Most marketers spend between $2M and $4.9M (20–21% each range), followed by $1M–$1.9M (18%). Smaller shares spend $500K–$999K (12%) or $250K–$499K (6%), while only 3% spend $5M or more. Headline notes it’s increasingly rare to spend under $1M annually. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

Marketing budget growth is expected across all industries, with 78% of respondents planning to increase their budgets this year.

Only 22% of respondents expect to decrease or keep their budgets intact.

Bar chart showing expected marketing budget changes over the next 12 months across industries. A strong majority (75–81%) in all sectors expect increases, with smaller portions expecting no change (14–21%) or decreases (0–9%), and very few unsure (0–2%). This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

How much more will companies spend to be seen?

Of the marketers planning to increase their budgets, two-thirds say they’ll raise spending by up to 10%.

Another 13% intend to increase it even more.

Bar chart titled “Marketing budget increase in 2026.” The largest share of marketers (38%) expect budgets to increase by 6–10%, followed by 27% expecting a 0–5% increase and 13% expecting increases of more than 10%. Smaller portions anticipate no change (5%) or decreases (4–7%), and 1% are unsure. Caption asks how much more will companies spend to be seen. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

Companies don’t just want to be known. They want to be seen as differerent.

Standing Out Keeps Marketers Up at Night

When asked what marketing challenges their organization is currently facing, more than half of surveyed marketers selected 5 of the 6 possible pain points.

This suggests that marketing complexity is growing, not shrinking.

Showing that a company or product is different is often what it takes to get attention.
Infographic with the headline “Attention and differentiation are even bigger pain points than getting new customers.” The bars show: Creating awareness/visibility (62%), Differentiating from competitors (60%), Communicating the company’s value and benefits (54%), Understanding the customer and their needs (52%), Generating leads (52%), and Driving user adoption (34%). The chart “What marketing challenges does your organization currently face?”

Is getting attention more important than having a good product?

It used to be that having a good product was the primary way of making it through the media’s tight filter on what the world would see.

Now, any product that can get attention can rise to the top.

For companies, this means that product quality is taking a back seat to marketing.

And getting attention—and sustaining it—is what will make or break a company’s success.

Infographic showing logos of various brands and AI companies under the caption “Companies Competing for Attention in Different Categories.” The logos are arranged in three columns: apparel and shapewear brands on the left (e.g., Spanx, Skims, Honeylove, Yummie, Commando), AI platforms in the center (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, Perplexity), and major athletic brands on the right (Adidas, Puma, Nike, Reebok, Under Armour). This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

A company’s ability to get attention can be its greatest differentiator.

For every company that launches a product, there are a number of others that launch something similar right behind it.

After Open AI launched ChatGPT, for instance, Google’s Gemini, xAI’s Grok, Perplexity AI and Claude by Anthropic followed suit.

After Spanx launched its revolutionary shapewear line, companies like Skims, Commando, Yummie and Honeylove emerged with their own takes on shapewear.

Sure, all of these have nuances that differentiate them from each other, but to the average consumer, it’s hard to know what’s what.

For example, ChatGPT’s biggest differentiator isn’t its features or functions. It isn’t even that it got to market first. (There are pros and cons to doing that.)

It’s that it continues to get more attention than its competitors (no matter how good their technologies are)–and sustains it from there.



A Bad Product
that gets a lot of attention will perform better than a good product that gets little, or no, attention.

 

 

Marketers’ Biggest Challenges Shift By Audience

B2C and B2B marketers face different pressures, from communicating brand values to generating leads.

Marketing leaders at consumer-facing brands and companies struggle most with clearly communicating brand values (64%), a challenge driven by saturated markets and the constant push for differentiation and audience appeal.

In contrast, B2B marketers remain focused on lead generation (57%), where longer sales cycles require sustained pipeline development.

Infographic comparing B2C and B2B marketing challenges with the headline “B2C Marketers Struggle to Communicate Differentiated Brand Value. B2B Companies Want More Pipeline Growth.” A side-by-side horizontal bar chart shows percentages for each group: Creating awareness/visibility (B2C 55%, B2B 52%), Differentiating from competitors (B2C 55%, B2B 38%), Communicating value & benefits (B2C 64%, B2B 33%), Understanding the customer & their needs (B2C 50%, B2B 33%), Generating leads (B2C 41%, B2B 57%), and Driving user adoption (B2C 23%, B2B 29%). The bottom caption asks, “Overall, what marketing challenges does your organization currently face?” This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.


Marketers in Service Industries Spend More to Break Through

For services companies, differentiated positioning is critical. Since customers don’t experience the service they’re purchasing until they’ve bought it, they buy on how value is communicated upfront through marketing.

In sectors like manufacturing and professional services (i.e. financial services, advertising and marketing), where differentiation is toughest, companies invest heavily in marketing to get noticed.

Thirty-five percent (35%) of manufacturing companies and 32% of professional services report annual marketing budgets of $4M or more. By comparison, just about half as many consumer goods companies (19%) invest the same.

These industries also reported higher revenue increases in 2025, suggesting a correlation between larger marketing investments and greater financial performance.

Bar chart titled “In industries where differentiation is toughest, companies invest more to get attention.” It shows the percentage of organizations by annual marketing budget (excluding salaries) across five industries. Technology: 6% spend $250K–$499K, 12% $500K–$999K, 25% $1M–$1.9M, 18% $2M–$2.9M, 17% $3M–$3.9M, 16% $4M–$4.9M, 6% $5M+. Manufacturing: 6% $250K–$499K, 15% $500K–$999K, 17% $1M–$1.9M, 12% $2M–$2.9M, 20% $3M–$3.9M, 29% $4M–$4.9M, 6% $5M+. Professional Services: 6% $250K–$499K, 9% $500K–$999K, 11% $1M–$1.9M, 23% $2M–$2.9M, 19% $3M–$3.9M, 26% $4M–$4.9M, 6% $5M+. Public Sector: 7% $250K–$499K, 13% $500K–$999K, 20% $1M–$1.9M, 20% $2M–$2.9M, 17% $3M–$3.9M, 17% $4M–$4.9M, 6% $5M+. Consumer Goods: 9% $250K–$499K, 8% $500K–$999K, 18% $1M–$1.9M, 23% $2M–$2.9M, 24% $3M–$3.9M, 13% $4M–$4.9M, 6% $5M+. Overall, most organizations across industries spend between $1M and $4.9M annually on marketing, with higher spending more common in manufacturing and professional services. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

Where and How Companies Are Getting Attention

Companies use an average of seven marketing channels to get audiences’ attention.

Social media, digital advertising, public relations and email are the four most common tenants of companies’ marketing mixes.

Leaders understand that no single channel can drive sustained growth and engagement.

With their audiences active across multiple digital channels, companies must meet them wherever they are.

Bar chart titled “Companies’ marketing mixes are composed of an average of 7 of these top 11 channels.” It shows the percentage of companies using each marketing channel. Social Media (89%), Digital Ads (81%), Public Relations (76%), Email (72%), Traditional Ads (63%), Events (60%), Influencer Marketing (59%), Video (59%), Content Marketing (54%), Podcasts (44%), and SEO (37%). Overall, social media and digital advertising are the most widely used channels, while podcasts and SEO are used by fewer organizations. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

B2C brands want consumers to purchase quickly. B2B companies have longer sales cycles. The marketing channels they choose reflect this.

Marketers have to consider the entire marketing funnel—from initial awareness to ultimate conversion—when they choose the channels they’re going to use.

For consumer marketers, a consumer might go from initial awareness to purchase in a single interaction.

Meanwhile, B2B marketers often have a far longer and more complex sales cycle that requires constant education over extended periods of time.

Social media, digital advertising and public relations are core channels for both B2C and B2B marketers.

Their preferred channels diverge from there:

B2C marketers rely on digital advertising and traditional advertising to get widespread attention, fast.

B2B companies prioritize events and SEO to drive in-person and targeted engagement with decision makers.

Bar chart titled “Marketers’ preferred channels reflect how they sell their products—and who they sell them to.” It compares the percentage of B2C and B2B marketers using different channels. Social Media: B2C 77%, B2B 71% Digital Ads: B2C 84%, B2B 71% Public Relations: B2C 61%, B2B 69% Email: B2C 55%, B2B 76% Traditional Ads: B2C 68%, B2B 38% Events: B2C 55%, B2B 67% Video: B2C 46%, B2B 52% Influencer Marketing: B2C 64%, B2B 38% Content Marketing: B2C 46%, B2B 57% Podcasts: B2C 27%, B2B 19% SEO: B2C 27%, B2B 57% Overall, B2C marketers favor digital ads, traditional ads, and influencer marketing, while B2B marketers rely more on email, events, content marketing, and SEO. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.


Industries also shape marketing channel decisions.

Marketers are investing in the channels their audiences are on, which differ slightly by industry.

Marketers working in Consumer Goods have a heavier reliance on social media (91%), influencer marketing (70%) and podcasts (54%) than any other sector because these digital channels are where consumers discover new products.

Marketers in Technology, on the other hand, have the heaviest reliance on public relations (87%) and email marketing (85%) as their targeted decision makers are looking for education and constantly on their emails.

 

Infographic titled “A look at the marketing channels different industries are prioritizing,” showing three bar charts for Technology, Manufacturing, and Consumer Goods. In all three, Social Media is the highest-priority channel (around 85–91%), followed by Digital Ads and Public Relations. Email and Traditional Ads fall in the mid range. Events, Video, and Influencer Marketing vary by industry, with Video notably higher in Manufacturing and Influencer Marketing higher in Consumer Goods. Content, Podcasts, and SEO are lower priorities overall, with SEO the lowest in each industry (around mid-30% to mid-40%). This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.
Infographic titled “A look at the marketing channels different industries are prioritizing,” showing bar charts for Professional Services and Public Sector, plus a legend of marketing channels. Social Media is the top channel in both (about 94% in Professional Services and 82% in Public Sector), followed by Digital Ads and Public Relations. Email, Traditional Ads, Events, and Video sit in the middle range with similar values. Influencer Marketing and Content are lower, while Podcasts and SEO are the least prioritized, especially in the Public Sector where SEO is the lowest (around 21%). This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

These are the top 3 channels marketers can’t do without.

Maximizing impact and garnering attention requires the right combination of owned, earned and paid media.

It’s clear that marketers have prioritized this mix with their top three channels.

When limited to three, marketers picked digital advertising, social media and PR as their top channels.

  • 57%

    Digital Advertising

    Owned

  • 54%

    Social Media

    Paid

  • 37%

    Public Relations

    Earned

These are the 5 channels marketers are spending the most on.

Marketers are spending the most on their top preferred channels—with the exception of events. While events are not typically among marketers’ top preferred channels, when companies invest in them, they invest heavily.

For B2B marketers in particular, events offer a key opportunity to meet with current and prospective customers, making it important to create a strong impression.

By recognizing how channels align with marketers’ goals —like social media for community building versus traditional advertising for broad reach— brands can better allocate their marketing spend where it matters most.

Infographic showing how a company’s total marketing budget is allocated across five channels. Digital Advertising has the largest share at 17.5%, followed closely by Social Media at 17%. Public Relations accounts for 16%, Traditional Advertising for 14%, and Events for 12.5%. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

Visibility fuels viability.

Marketers say PR is central to how a brand is perceived, positioned and remembered.

With more than 60% of marketers naming awareness and differentiation as their top challenge, its no surprise that PR plays such a critical role in their marketing mix.

When executed strategically, PR can deliver far more than basic brand awareness. It can directly fuel business growth.

Infographic titled “Marketers’ view of PR in their larger marketing program,” showing six statements about the role of public relations with associated percentages. The most selected statement is “PR generates and increases awareness of our brand and products/services in the market” at 59%. Two statements tie at 46%: “PR builds and nurtures our brand’s reputation” and “PR builds relationships between our company and the media.” Other responses include 41% saying PR teams write press releases and content, and two similar statements at 40% indicating PR acts as a gatekeeper of brand positioning and narrative. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

PR generates media coverage.

And media coverage creates visibility, generates sales, informs AI engines, influences stock prices, and beyond.
Infographic titled “Public Relations disproportionately influences how companies are positioned on AI engines.” A large bubble chart shows distribution of information sources: traditional media sources (43%) as the largest share, followed by company-owned media (22%), user-generated/community content (13%), industry reports/analyst data (10%), open knowledge databases (6%), and other specialized sources (5%). On the left, a mock ChatGPT prompt asks about the percentage breakdown of sources used in answers, including traditional media, company-owned content, and user-generated content. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.
Infographic titled “Respondents Snapshot.” Shows company type distribution: 83% B2B, 9% B2C, 8% both. Revenue breakdown for the past year: $1B+ (31%), $500–999M (27%), $100–499M (21%), $50–99M (21%). Company scope: 29% multinational and 71% domestic (US only). Respondent seniority: 49% directors, 27% C-level executives, 14% senior executives/VPs, and 10% presidents/CEOs. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.
Respondents Snapshot Infographic showing industries and methodology. Industry representation: technology/software (24%), financial services (17%), manufacturing (15%), retail & e-commerce (12%), consumer goods (11%), healthcare (9%), advertising & marketing (5%), consumer electronics (4%), and other (3%). Methodology notes that the survey included 250 full-time marketing executives across four age groups in all 50 states, conducted with a third-party research firm in Q1 2026. This image is part of the Tapping into the Attention Economy report by Channel V Media. CVM.

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