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 today 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 — and a New Political Flashpoint
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 (NAICS 541820) federal contracting.
NASA Communications Is Contracting
While most federal communications budgets have remained stable or grown, NASA's has gone the other direction.
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
RankVendorHolding CompanyPrimary Federal WorkEstimated Annual Revenue1DDBOmnicomArmy recruitment~$400M2GSD&MOmnicomAir Force recruitment~$148M3FCB / True North CommunicationsIPGFDA Real Cost$125M–$180M4MullenLoweIPGNavy/Marines~$90M5Fors Marsh GroupIndependentHHS, CDC, FDAVariable, large6PCI ProductionsIndependentNASA agencywideUndisclosed7Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, Porter NovelliIPG, IPG, OmnicomMulti-agency public health, DoDVariable
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.
"For 25 years, the federal communications market has been hidden in plain sight," said , founder of 5WPR.
"The contracts are public. The vendors are disclosed. The dollar values are reported in trade press as they're awarded. But no one had ever pulled it together. The federal government is the largest single buyer of communications services in the country, and the AI era will reshape what that buyer needs from its vendors.
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. The full report is free to access with no registration, paywall, or email gate. The report is free to 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 — including advertising (NAICS 541810) and marketing consulting (NAICS 541613) — 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.
What about HHS, CDC, and FDA?
The FDA's "Real Cost" youth tobacco prevention campaign is the largest non-defense vehicle, with a successor contract ceiling of $900 million over five years. HHS COVID-19 spending totaled approximately $900 million per the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including a $250 million Fors Marsh Group contract.
How can I cite this research?
Use the report title, "EPR Research and 5W" as publisher, the publication date, and a direct URL.
