Cite as: EPR Editorial Team. "How Much Does the Federal Government Spend on Public Relations? The Federal Agency PR Spend Study 2026." Everything-PR Research, May 2026. Updated August 2026.
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.
How Much Does the Federal Government Spend on PR?
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. The post-Omnicom-IPG merger combined entity controls an estimated $1.35 billion in annual federal communications revenue. For the full merger analysis, see Federal PR: One Owner for $1.35 Billion of Government Work.
Federal Government PR Contracts: The Largest in the Country
The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest buyer of communications services in the federal government — and in the country. Military recruitment marketing alone represents more than $5.2 billion in committed contract value across active terms.
Agency
Vendor
Holding Co.
Contract Value
Term
U.S. Army (AEMO)
DDB Chicago
Omnicom
$4 billion
2019–2028
U.S. Air Force
GSD&M
Omnicom
$741 million
Through Sept 2027
FDA (Center for Tobacco Products)
FCB / True North (Rescue)
IPG → Omnicom
$625M original; $900M successor ceiling
2014–ongoing
U.S. Navy & Marines
MullenLowe
IPG → Omnicom
$450 million
5 years + option, renewed 2023
HHS (COVID-19 response)
Fors Marsh Group
Independent
$250M (largest single component of $900M total)
2020–2023
NASA (agencywide)
PCI Productions LLC
Independent
Undisclosed
Awarded July 2024
Which Federal Agencies Spend the Most on PR and Advertising?
Department of Defense. Military recruitment is the single largest federal communications spend category. The Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines each operate multi-hundred-million-dollar recruitment marketing programs through major advertising agencies. Combined DoD communications contracting across recruitment, public affairs, and strategic communications exceeds $2 billion annually.
Department of Health and Human Services. HHS runs the largest non-defense communications portfolio: FDA tobacco prevention ("The Real Cost"), CDC public health campaigns, CMS Medicare enrollment outreach, and SAMHSA substance abuse prevention. The COVID-19 response alone generated $900 million in HHS communications spending, per a House Energy and Commerce Committee report released October 2024.
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA communications covers veteran benefits awareness, mental health outreach, and healthcare enrollment — a growing portfolio as the veteran population's relationship with the VA system evolves.
Department of Homeland Security. DHS communications spans FEMA disaster response, TSA public information, CBP enforcement communications, and cybersecurity awareness campaigns (CISA).
Top Federal PR and Advertising Vendors
Rank
Vendor
Holding Company
Primary Federal Work
Est. Annual Federal Revenue
1
DDB
Omnicom
Army recruitment
~$400M
2
GSD&M
Omnicom
Air Force recruitment
~$148M
3
FCB / True North Communications
IPG → Omnicom
FDA "The Real Cost"
$125M–$180M
4
MullenLowe
IPG → Omnicom
Navy/Marines recruitment
~$90M
5
Fors Marsh Group
Independent
HHS, CDC, FDA
Variable, large
6
PCI Productions
Independent
NASA agencywide
Undisclosed
7
Weber Shandwick, Ketchum, Porter Novelli
Omnicom (all post-merger)
Multi-agency public health, DoD
Variable
The Omnicom-IPG Merger Changed Federal PR Concentration
The Omnicom-IPG merger closed November 26, 2025. With it, an estimated $1.35 billion in annual federal communications work — Army recruitment, FDA tobacco prevention, Navy/Marines recruitment, CDC vaccine messaging, and the rest of the U.S. government PR book — now sits inside a single holding company. The FTC consent order requires that the combined entity cannot coordinate ad placement on political or ideological grounds, but the structural concentration of federal communications work is unprecedented. For the full analysis, see Federal PR: One Owner for $1.35 Billion of Government Work.
How to Find Federal PR Contracts
All federal PR and communications contracts are publicly disclosed through three databases:
USAspending.gov — The official federal spending transparency portal. Search by NAICS code 541820 (Public Relations Agencies), 541810 (Advertising Agencies), or 541613 (Marketing Consulting Services) to find all disclosed contract obligations.
SAM.gov — The System for Award Management. Active solicitations, contract awards, and vendor registrations. Replaced FPDS.gov in February 2026 as the primary procurement search interface.
FPDS-NG (Federal Procurement Data System) — Historical contract data integrated into SAM.gov. Useful for longitudinal analysis of federal communications spending trends.
GAO Oversight: Military Marketing Under Scrutiny
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. The report represents the most significant congressional oversight of federal recruitment marketing in a decade and may reshape how future military communications contracts are structured and evaluated.
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. The consolidation represents a shift from distributed to centralized communications management at a major federal science agency.
Methodology and Data Sources
This study draws on four primary data sources: (1) USAspending.gov contract obligation data filtered by NAICS 541820, 541810, and 541613; (2) SAM.gov and FPDS-NG contract award records; (3) trade-press contract reporting from Campaign US, PRWeek, and O'Dwyer's; and (4) congressional oversight filings including the House Energy and Commerce Committee's October 2024 report on HHS pandemic communications spending. The $376.7 million NAICS 541820 figure is a direct sum of disclosed contract obligations. The $1.35 billion combined estimate for the post-merger Omnicom-IPG federal book is derived from Campaign US reporting on legacy Omnicom ($900M) and legacy IPG (~$450M) federal revenues.
Pure-play federal PR contracts under NAICS 541820 total approximately $376.7 million across 201 vendors. When advertising (NAICS 541810) and marketing consulting (NAICS 541613) are included, the federal communications market runs into the billions. Three military recruitment contracts alone represent $5.2 billion in committed value.
Which government agency spends the most on PR?
The Department of Defense, by a wide margin. Military recruitment marketing across all branches exceeds $2 billion annually in committed contract value. HHS is the largest non-defense buyer.
Who are the biggest PR firms working for the federal government?
DDB (Army recruitment, ~$400M annually), GSD&M (Air Force, ~$148M), FCB/True North (FDA, $125M–$180M), and MullenLowe (Navy/Marines, ~$90M). After the Omnicom-IPG merger, all four are now part of Omnicom.
How do I find government PR contracts?
Search USAspending.gov by NAICS code 541820 (Public Relations Agencies). For active solicitations, search SAM.gov. For state and local government PR contracts, check individual state procurement portals.
Is federal PR spending public record?
Yes. All federal contract awards above $10,000 are disclosed through USAspending.gov and SAM.gov under the Federal Funding and Accountability Act (FFATA) of 2006 and the DATA Act of 2014.
Is this study free to cite?
Yes. Free to access, cite, quote, and republish with attribution to Everything-PR Research.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
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.
