Federal procurement under NAICS 541810 is concentrated in large, recurring advertising and communications awards, with an average action value of $1.19 million. The Department of the Army leads agency obligations, while DDB Chicago Inc. is the top vendor by total obligated value.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541810 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 10 Years)
FPDS analysis of NAICS 541810, Advertising Agencies, shows $13.42 billion obligated across 11,296 actions over the last 10 years.
Annual obligations peaked at $2.12 billion in 2023 and remained above $1.8 billion in 2024 before falling to $994.60 million in 2025.
NAICS Code
541810
Industry
ADVERTISING AGENCIES
Total Obligated
13.42 billion
13,417,364,152.21
Award Actions
11,296
Average Action Value
1,187,797.81
About NAICS 541810 federal contract activity
NAICS 541810 covers advertising agencies and generated $13.42 billion in obligations across 11,296 awards over the last 10 years, with an average award value of $1.19 million. Activity in this code is substantial and concentrated in a relatively small number of large federal buyers and established industry vendors.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
The Department of the Army led all agencies with $3.77 billion across 3,028 awards, followed by the Department of the Navy at $2.12 billion and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at $1.87 billion. The Department of the Air Force and the Food and Drug Administration also ranked among the top obligators, indicating demand across defense and civilian agencies.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
DDB Chicago Inc. was the largest vendor by obligated dollars at $2.69 billion across 679 awards. Young & Rubicam LLC, True North Communications Inc., GSD&M LLC, and IPG DXTRA, Inc. also accounted for significant obligated amounts, showing that a limited set of major advertising firms captured a large share of the market.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations remained elevated in recent years, rising from $1.34 billion in 2021 to $1.73 billion in 2022 and $2.12 billion in 2023 before reaching $1.82 billion in 2024. Through 2025, reported obligations total $994.60 million across 950 awards, which is below the full-year totals in the prior three years but still consistent with a high-volume procurement pattern.
How to interpret this page
This page summarizes FPDS obligations for NAICS 541810 over the last 10 years using total obligated dollars, award counts, and average award value. Agency, vendor, and annual trend rankings are based on the provided FPDS Query aggregates and reflect only the observed analysis window.
Top Agencies
SELECT
agency_id,
agency_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID AS agency_id,
anyHeavy(content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__name) AS agency_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541810'
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY agency_id
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Agency ID | Agency Name | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 3,766,939,418.17 | 3.77 billion | 3,028 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 2,120,753,275.31 | 2.12 billion | 1,001 |
| 7530 | CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES | 1,868,850,082.44 | 1.87 billion | 474 |
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 1,292,063,181.42 | 1.29 billion | 696 |
| 7524 | FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION | 1,045,756,195.60 | 1.05 billion | 116 |
| 1323 | US CENSUS BUREAU | 713,864,122.74 | 713.86 million | 279 |
| 6940 | NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION | 658,271,835.22 | 658.27 million | 204 |
| 9748 | DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCES ACTIVITY | 440,237,168.22 | 440.24 million | 150 |
| 7523 | CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION | 386,219,044.24 | 386.22 million | 157 |
| 2800 | SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION | 150,139,855.34 | 150.14 million | 157 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, NAICS 541810 obligations total $13.42 billion across 11,296 awards, with spending concentrated among a small number of agencies. The Department of the Army leads with $3.77 billion and 3,028 awards, followed by the Department of the Navy at $2.12 billion and CMS at $1.87 billion; these three agencies account for a substantial share of total obligated dollars. The top 10 agencies together span defense, health, transportation, and social services, indicating a broad but highly concentrated demand profile.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
cage_code,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
anyHeavy(content__award__vendor__vendorSiteDetails__entityIdentifiers__cageCode) AS cage_code,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541810'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | CAGE Code | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDB CHICAGO INC. | 7K9K8 | 2,694,169,325.18 | 2.69 billion | 679 |
| YOUNG & RUBICAM LLC | 0CME6 | 1,163,189,317.86 | 1.16 billion | 484 |
| TRUE NORTH COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 3U1E3 | 1,080,507,867.27 | 1.08 billion | 36 |
| GSD&M LLC | 1PWR1 | 889,572,382.76 | 889.57 million | 282 |
| IPG DXTRA, INC. | 37FD1 | 872,963,400.60 | 872.96 million | 29 |
| J. WALTER THOMPSON U.S.A., LLC | 3PMN9 | 802,825,903.88 | 802.83 million | 75 |
| MCCANN-ERICKSON USA, INC. | 6ZU04 | 450,997,976.85 | 451.00 million | 958 |
| PORTER NOVELLI PUBLIC SERVICES INC. | 58BY1 | 376,103,659.53 | 376.10 million | 125 |
| PLOWSHARE GROUP, INC | 1UDM2 | 373,879,770.44 | 373.88 million | 21 |
| STRATACOMM LLC | 3RBP5 | 361,043,057.40 | 361.04 million | 55 |
Insight
Obligations in NAICS 541810 are concentrated among a small set of vendors: the top 10 firms account for $9.06 billion of $13.42 billion obligated over the last 10 years, or about 67.5% of total obligations. DDB CHICAGO INC. leads the group with $2.69 billion across 679 awards, followed by YOUNG & RUBICAM LLC at $1.16 billion and TRUE NORTH COMMUNICATIONS INC. at $1.08 billion. Award volume is more dispersed than dollars, with MCCANN-ERICKSON USA, INC. recording 958 awards but only $451.0 million obligated, indicating differing award sizes across leading vendors.
Annual Trend
SELECT
year,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
toYear(parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate)) AS year,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541810'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 994,602,941.47 | 994.60 million | 950 |
| 2024 | 1,815,463,378.22 | 1.82 billion | 1,021 |
| 2023 | 2,118,967,183.79 | 2.12 billion | 1,068 |
| 2022 | 1,727,423,145.42 | 1.73 billion | 967 |
| 2021 | 1,337,622,839.51 | 1.34 billion | 952 |
| 2020 | 1,320,422,700.81 | 1.32 billion | 974 |
| 2019 | 1,376,783,191.17 | 1.38 billion | 1,171 |
| 2018 | 1,147,769,805.04 | 1.15 billion | 1,309 |
| 2017 | 856,994,154.90 | 856.99 million | 1,366 |
| 2016 | 721,314,811.88 | 721.31 million | 1,518 |
Insight
NAICS 541810 shows a 10-year total of $13.42 billion across 11,296 awards, with an average award value of $1.19 million. Obligations were concentrated in the most recent three years, peaking in 2023 at $2.12 billion, then declining to $1.82 billion in 2024 and $994.60 million in 2025. Earlier years were materially lower, ranging from $721.31 million in 2016 to $1.38 billion in 2019, while award counts were highest in 2016-2018 and generally trended lower as obligated dollars increased.
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