Calm laid off 20% of its staff here’s what it signals about digital health marketing amid economic uncertainty

US marketing budgets are lower this year (9.5% of company revenues) versus pre-pandemic levels (11% of company revenues), per a 2022 Gartner report. Health tech companies are no exception to marketing cuts likely because advertising costs are becoming difficult to maintain. Headspace Health, for example, dedicated a large portion of its budgets to consumer marketing. Although marketing was key to branding strategy and D2C growth, the era of uncertainty could mean fewer marketing partnerships and less marketing spend. That could ultimately mean more marketing staff cuts for mental health companies.