A company’s media budget represents all the financial resources dedicated to promotion across various advertising channels over a given period. Generally planned annually, this budget can be expressed in monetary terms or as a percentage of revenue. It constitutes the funds specifically allocated to advertising initiatives, within the framework of a forward-looking budgeting approach, with the possibility that not all of the funds will be used.

In practice, the concept of a media budget encompasses not only the resources actually committed to advertising, but also the investments made. It includes the purchase of advertising space, media planning advice, as well as the costs associated with the creation and production of advertising content. The media budget is an essential component of a company’s overall marketing budget.

Internationally, the annual media budget of a large company can reach colossal sums, amounting to billions of euros or dollars. For example, in 2021, the estimated global media planning and buying budget for the Stellantis group, which includes 14 brands from the PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, DS) and FCA (Fiat, Chrysler, Opel, Jeep, etc.) groups, was around €2 billion.

In France, advertisers’ media budgets for 2012, as reported by the UDA (Union des Annonceurs), represented a significant element in the advertising landscape.