Turn your FY27 budget into a plan that performs.
Getting the budget was the easy part. Making it count is the hard part.
It is worth remembering that at any given moment only around 5% of your market is ready to buy. A budget aimed only at that 5% ignores the other 95%, who are quietly deciding who to trust long before they are shopping. A plan that works the whole funnel reaches both.
A game plan, not a sales pitch.
- The new rules of FY27 budgeting. Why a budget is a hypothesis, not a plan, and why spreading evenly is the costly default.
- The funnel-wide plan. The four-layer framework for where your budget goes, so strategy, content, paid and events build on each other instead of competing.
- Getting the plan right. The habits that make a budget perform: where to start, what to protect, what to hold back.
- The capabilities that matter now. Where AI visibility and brand belong, so they are planned in rather than bolted on later.
- Measuring what works. How to track the numbers that matter and move money toward what converts, so next year's budget gets funded again.
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We do this for B2B teams like yours.
It is the same idea that runs through the game plan. Noel Leeming Commercial was stuck in short-term, discount-led tactics that pushed the brand into price wars with buyers who were not ready to convert. We reframed the plan around brand and stage-appropriate demand. Cost per click dropped 43% below benchmark, and the campaign delivered 28 qualified B2B enquiries.
Lead with a plan, not a pitch, and the budget goes further.
A note from Ben
Every year I watch good teams get their budget approved, then spend the next twelve months wondering where it went. It is one of the most fixable problems in marketing, and you do not need an agency to solve it.
This game plan is a simple version of what we would do, yours free. I hope your FY27 budget works as hard as you did to get it signed off.
Ben van Rooy
Founder
Human Digital
Get the game plan
Game plan FAQs
Can you get help applying the guide to your own budget?
Yes. After you request the guide, you can book a short call with Ben van Rooy, founder of Human Digital, to talk through how the game plan applies to your own FY27 budget. It is a practical conversation about your plan for the year.
How do you know if your marketing budget is working?
Track the numbers your board actually asks about: pipeline influenced, session-to-proposal conversion, and cost per qualified opportunity, rather than clicks and impressions. Watch the lag too, because B2B buying cycles are long and good marketing often shows up weeks or months after the spend.
How much of a B2B marketing budget should go to brand versus performance?
There is no single correct ratio, but most B2B teams underfund brand. Brand makes every performance dollar cheaper, because a recognised name lowers the cost of each click, email and sales conversation. The right split depends on your goals, but starve either side and the whole plan returns less.
How much of your budget should go to AI visibility in 2026?
Enough to appear in AI-generated answers before your competitors do. A growing share of B2B buyers now ask an AI assistant and act on the answer it gives, so if rivals show up there and you do not, you are invisible while a shortlist forms. It is measurable, most competitors are not doing it yet, and that makes it one of the highest-leverage places to invest.
How should you split your FY27 marketing budget?
Plan the funnel before the channels. Fund four layers in order: foundation (strategy and brand), visibility (SEO, AI visibility and content), demand (paid, search and events), then conversion and measurement. Each layer makes the next one cheaper, so the budget works as a connected system rather than a list of separate activities.
Is the Game Plan FY27 guide free?
Yes. The guide is free. Enter your name and email on this page and Human Digital will send you the link to read it. There is no cost and no obligation.
What is Game Plan FY27?
Game Plan FY27 is a free guide from Human Digital on converting your B2B marketing budget into a plan that performs across the whole funnel. It covers the new rules of budgeting, where your budget should go, the capabilities that matter now, and how to measure what works. You can request it by email on this page.
What is the biggest risk with a confirmed marketing budget?
The risk is not failing to spend it. It is spending it without a plan and reaching year end with activity to show but no result to point to. A budget is a hypothesis, not a plan, and the plan is the part most teams skip in the rush to get activity live.
When does the Australian financial year start for FY27?
The Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so FY27 begins on 1 July 2026. That makes the weeks around the start of July the natural moment to lock in how this year's marketing budget will be deployed.
Who is Game Plan FY27 for?
It is written for Australian B2B marketing leaders, general managers and business owners who have an FY27 budget and want a clear plan for where it goes. It suits anyone responsible for how this year's marketing spend performs.
