Federal obligations in public relations agencies (NAICS 541820)

PR agencies, a thin award file, at $733.1M

Federal offices hire public relations agencies for campaigns, media relations, and related communications. USAspending tags $733.1M of contract obligations to NAICS 541820 on only 525 awards—few actions relative to the dollar total. The figure is not a count of press releases and not a count of campaigns.

Marketing research and public opinion polling (541910) and marketing consulting services (541613) are different professional codes. Internet publishing (519130) is an information-sector neighbor. $733.1M follows the 541820 PR tag. Packet facts are the dollar total and the 525 count.

525 awards and a campaign-scale average

Five hundred twenty-five awards against $733.1M averages about $1.4M per action. That size fits multi-year communications vehicles better than a single media-buy invoice. Task orders still increment 525, so the count is not unique agencies and not unique campaigns.

With 525 actions carrying $733.1M, a handful of large PR vehicles likely dominate. Amount sort on the industry hub is the way to see that concentration. Treat the average as a divider, not a typical monthly retainer.

Communications holding companies often sell PR, research, and digital publishing together. Contracting officers still pick one NAICS per action. $733.1M on 525 awards is the 541820 pick. Neighbor 541613, 541910, and 519130 pages hold their own tagged dollars. Campaign inventories are not in the packet.

PR versus research, consulting, and publishing

541820 is public relations agencies. Translation and interpretation (541930) is a different professional service. Dual-role communications firms can be tagged 541820 on PR task orders and 541613 or 519130 on other work. $733.1M stays with 541820 on 525 tagged actions.

Cite the extract as $733.1M in USAspending contract obligations tagged to NAICS 541820, public relations agencies, on 525 awards. The packet has no fiscal year. Live tables can move; the harvested pair remains $733.1M and 525.

The harvested pair for this overlay remains $733.1M and 525 tagged awards.

Committed communications value

PR contracts often obligate a period of performance and pay on deliverables. $733.1M is committed value on 525 tagged actions, not cash already paid for every campaign month. Cancellations de-obligate. Outlays track payments separately.

Mis-tags appear when an award mixes PR with advertising research or web publishing. Keep $733.1M on 541820 as recorded, then read the 525 descriptions. This overlay does not merge marketing-research, consulting, or internet-publishing dollars into the PR cell.

Finding the 525 PR rows

The public relations agencies industry page lists the 525 awards behind $733.1M. The all-industries directory opens marketing, research, and publishing codes without folding those obligations into this total. Source: USAspending.gov contract awards.

Assistance without NAICS remains outside even when a grant funds similar communications. Internal links on this file are only the 541820 hub and the industry directory.

PR agencies are a professional-services title with a thin 525-award file under $733.1M. That concentration is the story the award count tells. Marketing research, marketing consulting, and internet publishing remain neighbor codes, not addends. Campaign names are not in the packet. Source: USAspending.gov; obligations not outlays; assistance may not carry NAICS.

A thin PR file and the communications neighbors

Five hundred twenty-five awards carrying $733.1M is a concentrated professional-services file. The about $1.4M average fits multi-year communications vehicles, not a monthly retainer. Marketing consulting (541613), marketing research (541910), translation (541930), and internet publishing (519130) are different establishments even when the same firm sells several of those services.

Task orders increment 525 without incrementing unique agencies. Amount sort on the public relations agencies industry page shows whether a few large rows dominate $733.1M. Press-release counts and campaign names are not in the packet facts.

Cite $733.1M in USAspending contract obligations tagged to NAICS 541820, public relations agencies, on 525 awards. Dollars are obligations, not outlays. Assistance awards may not carry NAICS. No fiscal year is in the packet. Internal links are the 541820 hub and the all-industries directory. Source: USAspending.gov contract awards.

Questions

How much federal contracting is coded to public relations agencies?

NAICS 541820 shows $733.1M in obligations on 525 USAspending contract awards. That is PR agencies as tagged, not marketing research or internet publishing. The unit is obligations, not outlays or campaign counts. Assistance awards may not carry NAICS, so grants remain outside the 525-award extract behind $733.1M.

Is 541820 the same as marketing consulting?

No. Marketing consulting is NAICS 541613. Marketing research is 541910. Internet publishing is 519130. This page’s $733.1M is the 541820 public-relations tag on 525 awards. Keep those neighbor codes on their own industry pages; do not merge them into the PR cell.

Why is the average award about $1.4 million?

Dividing $733.1M by 525 awards yields about $1.4M per action. That fits multi-year communications vehicles, but task orders also increment count. It is not unique agencies and not unique campaigns. Sort the hub by amount to see whether a few large rows drive most of the tagged total.

Are communications grants included?

Usually not. Assistance awards may not carry NAICS, so they fall outside this 525-award contract extract. Use program pages for grants. This industry guide covers tagged contracts only: $733.1M obligated on 525 public relations agencies awards in USAspending. Outlays are a different field.