If the expectations of the corporate communications market are confirmed, 2026 will be the third year where the values attributed to the field fluctuate little. “Next year the forecasts will still be cautious in the accounts, following the trend of 2025, where 46% of companies expect the budget to remain at the same level as in 2024, while 19% foresee some reduction,” says Hamilton dos Santos, executive director of the Brazilian Association of Business Communication (Aberje). “External factors, such as the economic situation and political instability, will continue to generate spending retention.”
For this year, it is estimated that the country’s corporate communications budgets will reach 32 billion reais, a slight increase from the 31.8 billion reais of 2024. There was, however, a significant decrease, of around 10%, between 2023 (35.5 billion reais) and 2024, driven by the scenario of fiscal instability and global uncertainties, which pushed companies to adopt a position of confinement.
The figures for 2025 are part of the study “The organizational communication budget in Brazil”, carried out by Aberje between December 2024 and March 2025 with 134 companies. This year, among the communication processes highlighted as those that should gain importance and contributions include internal communication, with 34% of preferences and linked to the management of the company’s reputation and image (34%), in addition to relational actions with the press (27%). Activities related to events (23%), branding or brand management (21%), and digital and social media (19%) were also indicated.
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The surveys also show the main criteria used to evaluate the effectiveness of the communication team’s work. Respecting the budget appears in second position (38%), surpassed only by the achievement of set objectives (62%). The measurement of publications obtained in the media (32%) and the support of target audiences for the proposed actions (30%) complete the top of the list.
The Aberje executive director argues that planning for 2026 should be guided by measuring the impact of activities carried out. “It is essential that the communications sector demonstrates the ability to demonstrate return on investment (ROI) to compete for better funds,” he suggests. “Planning should also focus not only on producing messages, but also on building (brands’) influence and reputation.”
According to Sheila Magri, executive director of the Brazilian Association of Communication Agencies (Abracom), agencies must also prepare to balance their bills. “The ideal is to work with different scenarios — such as ‘baseline,’ ‘optimistic,’ and ‘conservative’ — and prioritize recurring revenue,” he recommends.
For the director, the greatest difficulty agencies encounter in planning more precise budgets is their poor ability to anticipate calendar actions: “There is volatility in requests and competition on prices in contracts.” For 2026, Magri projects a framework of “optimistic prudence”, with a growth bias, in the financial flows of agencies. “If the economy remains stable, the sector should continue to grow.”
Ricardo Cesar, CEO and president of Ideal Axicom for Latin America, says, without revealing figures, that the agency’s budget has increased from 2024 to 2025, thanks to investments in technology, training and infrastructure for the team and clients. The agency maintains strategic plans lasting three years, with annual budgets. “The budgeting exercise begins with three questions: ‘what do we need to invest more in to be better’, ‘what do we need to do to attract and retain talent’ and ‘what non-essential costs can be reduced’,” he explains. “We cross-referenced these responses with an analysis of expected financial performance for the year, based on the current portfolio and customer projections, as well as the economic scenario and growth assumptions agreed with headquarters. »
For Débora Freire, CEO of DFreire Comunicação e Negócios, one of the lessons learned in running the business is to exercise caution: “There is no point wasting energy on things that we cannot control, such as the economic environment.” For her, the long history of relationships with clients is a differentiator that makes it possible to anticipate the diagnosis of accounts. “Of the current portfolio of 45 clients, at least three have been with us since the company was founded 22 years ago. Others have maintained the majority of annual contracts for eight, ten or 12 years. This allows for greater budgetary predictability.”
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