Federal spending under NAICS 541810 totaled $7.99 billion across 4,958 actions in the last 5 years, with an average action value of $1.61 million. The Department of the Army, CMS, and the Department of the Navy accounted for the largest agency obligations, while DDB Chicago Inc. was the top vendor by obligated amount.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541810 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 5 Years)
FPDS procurement summary for NAICS 541810, Advertising Agencies, covering obligations, award counts, agencies, vendors, and annual trends over the last 5 years.
Totals reflect readable FPDS obligation data for the last 5 years and may include multiple actions associated with the same vendors and agencies.
NAICS Code
541810
Industry
ADVERTISING AGENCIES
Total Obligated
7.99 billion
7,994,079,488.41
Award Actions
4,958
Average Action Value
1,612,359.71
About NAICS 541810 federal contract activity
NAICS 541810, Advertising Agencies, recorded 7.99 billion in obligated contract dollars across 4,958 awards over the last 5 years, with an average award value of 1.61 million. The category is highly concentrated, with a small number of large agencies and vendors accounting for a substantial share of total spending.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
The Department of the Army led federal demand for advertising agency services at 2.14 billion across 940 awards, followed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at 1.56 billion across 261 awards and the Department of the Navy at 1.26 billion across 466 awards. The Department of the Air Force and the Food and Drug Administration also appear among the top buying agencies, with 789.92 million and 521.87 million obligated, respectively.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
DDB Chicago Inc. was the largest vendor in this NAICS, with 2.08 billion obligated across 566 awards, making it the dominant recipient by both dollars and volume. Other major vendors include IPG DXTRA, Inc. at 872.96 million, GSD&M LLC at 780.09 million, True North Communications Inc. at 529.73 million, and Young & Rubicam LLC at 508.43 million, indicating that spending is spread across a relatively small set of established firms.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations peaked in 2023 at 2.12 billion across 1,068 awards and remained elevated in 2024 at 1.82 billion across 1,021 awards. Obligations declined to 994.60 million in 2025, while award counts also eased to 950, after 1,337.62 million in 2021 and 1,727.42 million in 2022.
How to interpret this page
This page summarizes FPDS-observed federal contract activity reported under NAICS 541810 for the last 5 years. Totals reflect obligated dollars and award counts within the selected analysis window, and agency and vendor rankings are based on cumulative obligated amounts in that period.
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 5 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 | 2,136,180,705.78 | 2.14 billion | 940 |
| 7530 | CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES | 1,561,313,372.51 | 1.56 billion | 261 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 1,263,818,416.09 | 1.26 billion | 466 |
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 789,919,510.32 | 789.92 million | 317 |
| 7524 | FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION | 521,865,643.90 | 521.87 million | 35 |
| 6940 | NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION | 377,352,060.78 | 377.35 million | 94 |
| 7523 | CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION | 311,159,463.99 | 311.16 million | 57 |
| 9748 | DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCES ACTIVITY | 264,491,623.04 | 264.49 million | 76 |
| 2800 | SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION | 126,536,579.28 | 126.54 million | 122 |
| 7022 | FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY | 116,030,024.20 | 116.03 million | 60 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, obligations under NAICS 541810 totaled $7.99 billion across 4,958 awards, with demand concentrated among a small set of agencies. The Department of the Army led obligations at $2.14 billion, followed by CMS at $1.56 billion and the Department of the Navy at $1.26 billion; these three agencies together accounted for roughly 61% of total obligated dollars. The next tier—Air Force, FDA, NHTSA, and CDC—added another $2.29 billion, indicating a procurement base that is broad but still heavily weighted toward defense and health-related buyers.
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 5 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 | 2,075,756,107.33 | 2.08 billion | 566 |
| IPG DXTRA, INC. | 37FD1 | 872,963,400.60 | 872.96 million | 29 |
| GSD&M LLC | 1PWR1 | 780,087,515.18 | 780.09 million | 249 |
| TRUE NORTH COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 3U1E3 | 529,731,232.96 | 529.73 million | 14 |
| YOUNG & RUBICAM LLC | 0CME6 | 508,425,456.75 | 508.43 million | 360 |
| J. WALTER THOMPSON U.S.A., LLC | 3PMN9 | 473,346,971.76 | 473.35 million | 32 |
| PLOWSHARE GROUP, INC | 1UDM2 | 309,070,971.25 | 309.07 million | 17 |
| PORTER NOVELLI PUBLIC SERVICES INC. | 58BY1 | 262,508,848.19 | 262.51 million | 79 |
| MULLENLOWE U.S., INC. | 1WZP9 | 259,626,811.18 | 259.63 million | 61 |
| STRATACOMM LLC | 3RBP5 | 256,736,381.16 | 256.74 million | 39 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541810 obligated $7.99 billion across 4,958 awards, with an average award value of $1.61 million. The top 10 vendors account for a substantial share of obligated dollars, led by DDB CHICAGO INC. at $2.08 billion across 566 awards, indicating meaningful concentration among a small set of firms. Award volume is uneven across top vendors, with several high-dollar recipients posting relatively low award counts, such as IPG DXTRA, INC. and TRUE NORTH COMMUNICATIONS INC., suggesting larger individual obligations rather than broad award dispersion.
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 5 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 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541810 obligations totaled $7.99 billion across 4,958 awards, with an average award value of about $1.61 million. Obligations increased from $1.34 billion in 2021 to a peak of $2.12 billion in 2023, then declined to $1.82 billion in 2024 and $994.6 million in 2025. Award counts remained relatively stable between 950 and 1,068 annually, indicating that year-to-year variation in obligations was driven more by award value than by volume.
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