The first systematic accounting of what U.S. federal agencies pay outside firms for communications work. Pure-play PR contracts total $376.7 million. Total federal communications spend, when advertising and marketing consulting are included, runs into the billions — and two holding companies command an estimated $1.35 billion of it.
EPR Research and 5W AI Communications released The Federal Agency PR & Communications Spend Transparency Study 2026, the fourth installment in EPR's transparency-study series. The Study is the first comprehensive public review of federal communications contracting, drawn from USAspending.gov, FPDS-NG, and SAM.gov procurement data, supplemented by trade-press contract reporting and congressional oversight filings.
The Headline Number Hides the Real Market
Federal contract obligations under NAICS 541820 — the dedicated procurement code for "Public Relations Agencies" — total approximately $376.7 million across 201 vendors. That is the cleanest, most defensible measure of federal PR spend. It is also a profound understatement of what the federal government actually spends on communications.
When the work bleeds into NAICS 541810 (Advertising Agencies) and NAICS 541613 (Marketing Consulting Services), the federal communications market runs into the billions. Per Campaign US, Omnicom held approximately $900 million in annual federal work in FY2024, with IPG carrying roughly half that share. The post-merger combined entity controls an estimated $1.35 billion in annual federal communications revenue.
Defense Recruitment Is the Largest Communications Vehicle in the U.S. Government
U.S. Army → DDB Chicago. 10-year, $4 billion contract running 2019 through 2028, supporting the Army Enterprise Marketing Office (AEMO) recruitment effort.
U.S. Air Force → GSD&M. $741 million contract running through September 30, 2027.
U.S. Navy and Marines → MullenLowe (IPG). $450 million over five years with a sixth-year option, renewed in 2023.
These three contracts alone represent more than $5.2 billion in committed federal communications spending across their contract terms.
FDA Tobacco Prevention Is the Largest Non-Defense Vehicle
The FDA Center for Tobacco Products has run "The Real Cost" youth tobacco prevention campaign since 2014. The original five-year contract awarded to True North Communications — a partnership of FCB New York and behavior-change agency Rescue, all under IPG — was valued at $625 million. A successor RFP issued in 2020 carried a ceiling of $900 million over five years.
HHS Pandemic Spend Set a New Ceiling
A House Energy and Commerce Committee report released in October 2024 cited $900 million in HHS public health campaign spending tied to the COVID-19 response. The largest single component was a $250 million contract awarded to Fors Marsh Group for the "COVID-19 Public Health Re-opening America" campaign. The HHS COVID-19 communications spend, taken alone, exceeded the entire annual budget of pure-play PR federal contracting.
NASA Communications Is Contracting
NASA awarded an agencywide communications services contract to PCI Productions LLC of Huntsville, Alabama, in July 2024. In parallel, NASA Public Affairs reduced staff across 2024 and 2025.
Top Federal Communications Vendors
Rank
Vendor
Holding Company
Primary Federal Work
Est. Annual Revenue
1
DDB
Omnicom
Army recruitment
~$400M
2
GSD&M
Omnicom
Air Force recruitment
~$148M
3
FCB / True North Communications
IPG
FDA Real Cost
$125M–$180M
4
MullenLowe
IPG
Navy/Marines
~$90M
5
Fors Marsh Group
Independent
HHS, CDC, FDA
Variable, large
6
PCI Productions
Independent
NASA agencywide
Undisclosed
7
Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, Porter Novelli
IPG, IPG, Omnicom
Multi-agency public health, DoD
Variable
Why It Matters
Federal communications is the largest publicly disclosed PR market in the United States — and the most consistently underreported. A November 2024 GAO report (GAO-25-106719) found that the military services need to better manage brand risks, assess marketing effectiveness, and use marketing funds responsibly.
FAQs
What is the Federal Agency PR & Communications Spend Transparency Study? A systematic estimate of what U.S. federal agencies pay outside firms for public relations, advertising, and strategic communications, based on public procurement data from USAspending.gov, FPDS-NG, and SAM.gov, supplemented by trade-press contract reporting.
Is the report free? Yes. Free to access, cite, quote, and republish with attribution.
What is the headline figure? Pure-play federal PR contracts under NAICS 541820 total approximately $376.7 million across 201 vendors. The full federal communications market runs into the billions.
Who buys the most communications work in the federal government? The Department of Defense, by a wide margin. Army, Air Force, and Navy/Marines recruitment marketing alone represents more than $5.2 billion in committed contract value across active terms.
How can I cite this research? Use the report title, "EPR Research and 5W AI Communications" as publisher, the publication date, and a direct URL.
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The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
