Marlowfen Homewares Marketing Budget 2027
Budget proposal presentation: where every dollar goes
A budget proposal presentation has to prove to finance that every dollar has a line, that the increase is traceable, and that the money will be controlled once it is approved. The marketing team at Marlowfen Homewares, an invented retailer, asks for $1.4M, up $220K on last year, and shows what the extra money is expected to return against holding the budget flat.
Every slide, in order
The whole deck as it renders, one slide after another. Read it the way the audience would.
The structure
What each slide is doing, so you can reuse the order even with different content.
- Slide 1cover
- Names the department, the year and the request before anything else.
- Slide 2metrics
- States the ask and the change from last year in one number, so the meeting knows what it is deciding.
- Slide 3investment
- Shows where every dollar goes by category, which is the first question a finance reader asks.
- Slide 4metrics
- Every line item with last year and the proposal, so the increase can be traced line by line.
- Slide 5metrics
- Expected return per dollar by channel, the evidence behind which lines grow and which shrink.
- Slide 6timeline
- Spend by quarter, weighted to the season, so finance can plan cash and the team can be held to the phasing.
- Slide 7comparison
- Two funding scenarios side by side, so the executive team can see what the extra $220K buys.
- Slide 8checklist
- How the spend is controlled during the year, which is what makes finance comfortable approving it.
- Slide 9takeaway
- Five lines the executive team can repeat after the meeting.
- Slide 10closing
- Asks for the decision and says what happens on approval.
Slide by slide
Slide one names the request. Slide two states the ask and the change from 2026 in one number. Slide three is a donut of the $1.4M across seven categories. Slide four is the line item table. Slide five charts expected return per dollar by channel. Slide six phases the spend by quarter, weighted to the fourth quarter when 38 percent of sales happen. Slide seven puts two funding scenarios side by side. Slide eight lists five controls, including a $2.50 return floor and quarterly release. Slide nine sums the case in five lines. Slide ten asks for approval and the first quarterly release.
How to adapt this deck
A department with no attribution data, such as HR or IT, should replace the return chart with cost per outcome, such as cost per hire or cost per ticket, and keep the same line item table. A budget that is being cut rather than raised should keep slide seven and price what is lost at each level of cut. If the request is mostly people rather than spend, add a headcount line to the table and a slide on what each role delivers, because finance will treat salaries as permanent and campaigns as optional.
What finance and marketing bodies say
Gartner's 2025 CMO Spend Survey found marketing budgets flat at 7.7 percent of company revenue, with paid media taking 30.6 percent of the budget, so a request for more has to show what it buys. The IPA's effectiveness work, including The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field, argues for balancing short term activation with longer term brand building. This deck keeps both visible: content and SEO pay back more slowly, and the table says so.
What makes this deck work
The increase is traced line by line
Slide four lists seven line items with the 2026 actual, the 2027 proposal and the change, from email up $62K to the catalogue down $30K. The changes add to $220K and the totals to $1,180K and $1,400K, so a finance reader can follow the increase to its source without asking.
Return decides the mix
Slide five ranks channels by revenue per dollar: email $9.50, search $4.20, content $3.60, social $2.80 and the catalogue $1.90. The lines that grow most on slide four are the ones that return most here, and the only line that shrinks is the one at the bottom of the chart.
The alternative is priced
Slide seven compares the full request with holding at $1.18M: about $4.8M of attributed revenue against $3.8M. The executive team is choosing between two outcomes with numbers on both, not between yes and no, which is a far easier conversation to have.
Questions people ask
What should a budget proposal presentation include?
The total ask and the change from last year, where the money goes by category, a line item table against last year, the evidence for the mix, phasing by quarter, at least one alternative scenario, the controls you will apply and the decision you need. Ten slides is enough for an executive meeting.
How do I justify a budget increase to finance?
Trace the increase to specific lines, give each a one line reason, and show what it is expected to return. Then price the alternative of not funding it. Here the extra $220K is expected to bring about $1.0M of attributed revenue, which is what finance will weigh.
Should a budget deck show a donut chart or a table?
Both, for different questions. The donut answers where the money goes at a glance, and the table answers what changed and why. Use short category names on the donut so the legend fits on one line, and keep the full names and the reasons in the table.
How many funding scenarios should a budget proposal show?
Two or three. The proposed budget and holding flat is the minimum, because finance will always ask what happens if nothing changes. A third scenario, such as a 10 percent cut, helps when the business is under cost pressure. Give each scenario an expected outcome, not only a cost.
How do I show budget controls without sounding defensive?
State them as rules with numbers: a minimum return before a channel is cut, quarterly release of funds, a cap on agency spend, and a monthly review with a named finance partner. Specific rules read as confidence, and they answer the question finance would otherwise ask about overspending.
Can I turn the donut chart into an editable PowerPoint chart?
Yes. The editable PPTX export turns donut, bar, line and most other chart kinds into native PowerPoint charts, so finance can change the numbers in PowerPoint. Only a waffle chart stays a picture. PowerPoint exports are on paid plans, and a PDF export costs about 1 credit per 10 slides.
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