By Outrider Editorial Team · Updated August 20, 2026
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing operating advice and assistance to businesses and other organizations on marketing issues, such as developing marketing objectives and policies, sales forecasting, new product developing and pricing, licensing and franchise planning, and marketing planning and strategy.
FY2025 obligations
$383.4M
Contract actions
515
IDVs
162
Top buying agencies
- Department of Homeland Security$227.2M
- Department of Health and Human Services$62.0M
- Department of the Interior$26.1M
- Department of Defense$24.9M
- Department of Justice$12.8M
FY2025 federal contract obligations, USAspending.gov
NAICS 541613 obligated $383 million in FY2025 across 515 contract actions, and the buyer order is the opposite of most federal codes. DHS leads at $227 million, or 59 percent, driven by CBP and TSA hiring campaigns and public awareness programs. HHS follows at $62 million, Interior at $26 million, DoD at $25 million, and DOJ at $13 million. Defense is fourth, which happens in very few places.
What belongs here
Advice and assistance on marketing issues: marketing objectives and policy, sales forecasting, new product development and pricing, licensing and franchise planning, and marketing strategy.
- Creating campaigns and placing media is 541810, which obligated $1.2 billion in FY2025, three times this code.
- Broader organizational strategy is 541611.
- Contact center execution of a campaign is 561422.
Competing in this code
162 IDVs against 515 actions leaves a real share of this code competing as discrete awards, and the average action is around $740,000, which is a size a boutique can staff. The specific opening is federal recruitment marketing. DHS, and increasingly VA and the military services, buy audience research, message testing, and channel strategy separately from creative and media placement. A firm with demonstrable results moving applicant volume for a hard-to-fill occupation is competing on evidence, and that evidence transfers across agencies far better than general brand credentials.
Frequently Asked
NAICS 541613 questions, answered.
What is the SBA size standard for NAICS 541613?
SBA sets it at $19 million in average annual receipts, averaged over your last five completed fiscal years. Come in at or under that and you are small on every NAICS 541613 solicitation, including the set-asides.
Which agencies buy marketing consulting under NAICS 541613?
FY2025 obligations: DHS ($227 million), HHS ($62 million), Interior ($26 million), DoD ($25 million), DOJ ($13 million). DHS at 59 percent, with DoD only fourth, makes this one of the few professional services codes where defense past performance is not the differentiator.
What is the difference between NAICS 541613 and 541810?
541613 is the strategy: audience research, message testing, positioning, channel planning. 541810 is the execution: campaign creation and media placement, which is a full-service scope. Federal spending is $383 million against $1.2 billion. Agencies frequently buy them separately, and firms that only do strategy should not be registered as advertising agencies.
Where is the best entry point in NAICS 541613?
Federal recruitment marketing. DHS obligated $227 million in the code in FY2025 largely on CBP and TSA hiring, and the military services and VA buy similar work. Agencies purchase audience research and message testing separately from creative, and measurable applicant-volume results transfer across agencies better than general brand credentials.
Register Under NAICS 541613
Classify your business correctly to maximize visibility to federal buyers and access small business set-asides.
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