If you want your brand to grow, stand out, and stick in people’s minds, here’s a simple truth:

You need to invest. Properly. Consistently. Strategically.

And yet, far too many businesses treat branding and marketing as a “nice to have” or a quick fix when sales are down.

Let’s get real about what it actually takes to build a successful brand and what the world’s biggest players can teach us.

So, how much should you be spending?

Let’s start with some benchmarks.

The industry rule of thumb:

5–10% of annual revenue should be reinvested in marketing and branding.
New businesses or those launching new products might need to go higher, even up to 20%, to build awareness fast.

If you’re making £1 million a year and investing just £10k in marketing… it’s not a strategy. It’s a flyer.

What do the big brands spend?

Let’s look at the companies everyone wants to emulate:

Apple
In 2023, Apple spent around $10 billion on advertising alone. That’s not counting brand experience, retail, or product launch events. Apple doesn’t advertise to sell phones. They advertise to stay unforgettable.

Nike
Nike spent over $4 billion on marketing in 2023, roughly 10% of its total revenue. Why? Because Nike knows that without continual brand building, they’re just another trainer.

These aren’t one-off splurges. These are ongoing, deliberate, long-term investments in brand value and market dominance.

But what about smaller businesses?

Let’s say you’re a £2M turnover business. Investing 5–10% means £100k–£200k a year in branding, marketing, content, media, PR, the works.

That’s what it takes to grow beyond your existing network. To create meaningful differentiation. To stop relying solely on referrals or one-off campaigns. To actually build something people remember.

Why don’t more businesses invest properly?

There are a few common (and costly) mindsets that hold people back:

1. “We’ll invest once we grow”

But growth needs marketing. Waiting is like saying, “We’ll hire a sales team once we have more customers.”

2. “We tried it once and it didn’t work”

One social ad campaign isn’t a strategy. One rebrand without follow-through is just a new logo. Consistency beats intensity.

3. “We get most of our business from referrals”

Great. But referrals don’t scale. They don’t build equity. They don’t create demand. Branding does.

4. “We don’t need to be Apple or Nike”

You don’t. But you do need to be the most relevant, memorable, and trusted brand in your space.

What happens if you don’t invest?

You compete on price instead of value
You get ignored next to brands that look and sound more confident
You plateau and blame the market
You lose customers to shinier, bolder, better-branded competitors

The cost of under-investment isn’t just stagnation, it’s irrelevance.

Final thought

If you want to grow, you need to start thinking like a brand, not just a business.

Invest in strategy. Invest in creativity. Invest in consistency. Because the market rewards the brands that show up, stand out, and stick in people’s heads.

Even if you’re not Apple or Nike (yet), the same principle applies:

Your brand is either your biggest asset or your biggest bottleneck.

How much should you invest in branding and marketing?