By Outrider Editorial Team · Updated August 20, 2026
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in creating advertising campaigns and placing such advertising in print and digital periodicals, newspapers, radio and television, or other media. These establishments are organized to provide a full range of services (i.e., through in-house capabilities or subcontracting), including advice, creative services, account management, production of advertising content, media planning, and buying (i.e., placing advertising).
FY2025 obligations
$1.2B
Contract actions
628
IDVs
173
Top buying agencies
- Department of Defense$796.1M
- Department of Health and Human Services$185.9M
- Department of Transportation$93.4M
- Department of Homeland Security$56.5M
- Department of Veterans Affairs$13.9M
FY2025 federal contract obligations, USAspending.gov
NAICS 541810 obligated $1.2 billion in FY2025 across only 628 contract actions, an average near $1.9 million each. DoD is $796 million, and that spend is military recruiting advertising, the largest and most sophisticated media accounts the federal government runs. HHS follows at $186 million on public health campaigns, DOT at $93 million on NHTSA highway safety messaging, DHS at $56 million, and VA at $14 million.
What belongs here
Creating advertising campaigns and placing them in print, digital, broadcast, and other media, with a full range of services including creative, account management, production, and media placement, whether in-house or subcontracted.
- Marketing strategy and audience research sold without campaign execution is 541613.
- Outbound and inbound contact center execution is 561422.
- Broader communications and organizational strategy is 541611.
Competing in this code
173 IDVs against 628 actions, at nearly $2 million average, describes a small number of very large accounts held for long terms. The service recruiting accounts recompete on multi-year cycles and are effectively closed between competitions. The reachable work is underneath: media buying for a single channel, production, multicultural and language-specific creative, and analytics support are all bought as separate task orders or subcontracts. A specialist with measured performance in one channel gets on a recruiting team far more easily than a full-service agency gets the account.
Frequently Asked
NAICS 541810 questions, answered.
What is the SBA size standard for NAICS 541810?
SBA sets it at $25.5 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 541810 solicitation, including the set-asides.
Which agencies buy advertising under NAICS 541810?
FY2025 obligations: DoD ($796 million), HHS ($186 million), DOT ($93 million), DHS ($56 million), VA ($14 million). DoD's 69 percent is military recruiting advertising, and HHS and DOT campaign spending is the main civilian alternative.
Can a small agency win federal advertising work under NAICS 541810?
Rarely as the account holder. 628 actions carried $1.2 billion in FY2025, an average near $1.9 million, and the service recruiting accounts are held on long multi-year terms. The realistic entry is specialist work underneath: single-channel media buying, production, multicultural and language-specific creative, and campaign analytics.
When do agencies buy 541810 instead of 541613?
When they want campaigns created and media placed. 541810 is the full-service execution code and carries $1.2 billion. 541613 is marketing consulting at $383 million, covering research, positioning, and strategy without execution. Agencies increasingly split the two, which lets research firms compete without media buying capability.
Register Under NAICS 541810
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