ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Marketing spending

Marketing spending is like buying toys. When mommy or daddy wants to buy toys for you, they have to spend money. Similarly, when companies want to sell their products, they have to spend money on marketing.

Marketing can be like putting up big posters in the mall or making fun TV ads. Companies also send emails, call you on the phone or messages to tell you about their products so you can buy them. These marketing strategies cost money.

The same way, you can only buy a certain number of toys depending on how much money your parents have, companies can only do marketing that they can afford based on their budget.

Companies decide how much they want to spend on marketing each year by looking at how much money they made in the past, how much money they want to make in the future and how much money their competitors are spending on marketing.

If companies want to sell more products, they will spend more money on marketing to make more people aware of their products. If they don't have enough money to spend on marketing, then not as many people will know about their products, and they may not sell as many, just like you won't have as many toys if your parents don't have enough money to buy them.