Not All Federal Agencies Buy Marketing the Same Way
Federal agencies collectively spend billions annually on marketing, communications, and creative services — but spending is not evenly distributed. A handful of agencies account for the majority of marketing contract dollars, and knowing which ones regularly buy services like yours is more valuable than monitoring all of SAM.gov blindly.
This guide covers the 15 federal agencies that are most active buyers of marketing, advertising, public outreach, and creative services — based on USASpending.gov award data and SAM.gov solicitation history — and what each agency tends to look for in vendor partners.
The Top 15 Federal Buyers of Marketing and Creative Services
1. Department of Defense — Military Recruiting Commands
The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and National Guard each run their own recruiting advertising programs. These are among the largest advertising contracts in the entire federal government — often worth hundreds of millions over multi-year periods. The competition is intense and typically involves large national agencies, but task orders under existing IDIQ vehicles, subcontracting opportunities, and smaller recruitment support contracts are accessible to smaller firms.
Best fit: Agencies with brand-building, youth marketing, digital, and media buying experience.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC is one of the most active buyers of health communications, public outreach, and social media services in the federal government. Campaigns covering topics from flu vaccination to opioid prevention to chronic disease awareness are regularly contracted to private agencies. CDC uses both full competition and small business set-asides.
Best fit: Agencies with public health communications, multilingual outreach, or social marketing experience.
3. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH funds and manages communications contracts for dozens of institutes and centers. From NCI cancer awareness campaigns to NHLBI heart health outreach, NIH contracts span health education, video production, web content, and patient communications. Individual institute budgets vary widely — some run $5M+ multi-year contracts, others have smaller project-based needs.
Best fit: Health communications agencies; agencies with science translation or patient education experience.
4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA regularly contracts for behavioral health communications, awareness campaigns, social media, and digital outreach. Campaigns addressing mental health stigma, substance use treatment access, and crisis intervention are core to their mission. Many SAMHSA contracts are small business set-asides.
Best fit: Health and wellness communications agencies; agencies with youth or community outreach experience.
5. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
The VA has a large and growing communications budget covering veteran benefits awareness, mental health campaigns (particularly around suicide prevention), and outreach for specific VA programs. The VA has a strong SDVOSB preference — veteran-owned marketing agencies have a significant advantage here.
Best fit: SDVOSB-certified agencies; agencies with veteran-community or healthcare communications experience.
6. USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)
USDA contracts cover a wide range of communications needs: SNAP and WIC nutrition program outreach, food safety public education, rural development communications, and agriculture program promotion. Many USDA campaigns require multilingual creative (Spanish-English bilingual is common). Contract sizes range from small project work to multi-year agreements.
Best fit: Agencies with multicultural marketing, nutrition, or rural audience experience.
7. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
USAID funds communications and marketing work in international development contexts — health campaigns in developing countries, democracy and governance outreach, economic development program communications. These contracts often require specialized language capabilities, international experience, or knowledge of specific regions.
Best fit: Agencies with international experience, global health communications, or multilingual capabilities.
8. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
NHTSA runs national public safety campaigns — seatbelt use, drunk driving prevention, distracted driving awareness — often on large scales. The "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" and "Click It or Ticket" campaigns are NHTSA-funded. Campaigns involve significant paid media buying, creative production, and research. Large contracts, competitive, but with regular subcontracting and regional opportunities.
Best fit: Agencies with mass-market advertising, behavior change, or public safety campaign experience.
9. Small Business Administration (SBA)
The SBA regularly contracts for marketing and outreach supporting its small business programs: SCORE mentoring, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women's Business Centers, and major awareness initiatives. SBA actively supports small business set-asides in its own contracting — a natural fit for the agencies bidding on SBA work.
Best fit: Agencies with business education, entrepreneurship, or government program communications experience.
10. Department of Education
The Department of Education funds communications work for student loan programs, FAFSA outreach, and educational equity initiatives. Reaching diverse student populations (first-generation students, low-income households, rural communities) is a frequent focus. Grants.gov is a common vehicle for education-related outreach work.
Best fit: Agencies with education marketing, youth outreach, or multicultural communications experience.
11. U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau has major advertising contracts around each decennial census and the American Community Survey, plus ongoing communications work between census cycles. The 2020 Census campaign was one of the largest government advertising efforts in recent memory. The next major campaign ramp-up is approaching for 2030.
Best fit: Agencies with multilingual, multicultural, and hard-to-reach-population outreach experience.
12. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA contracts for environmental public education campaigns, climate communications, and regulatory outreach. Campaigns covering air quality, water safety, recycling, and environmental justice are regularly funded. EPA has a mix of full competition and small business set-asides.
Best fit: Agencies with environmental, sustainability, or science communications experience.
13. Department of State
State Department communications needs range from public diplomacy campaigns (international audience) to domestic outreach for passport and visa services. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Global Engagement Center fund significant communications work. International focus requires language and cultural capabilities.
Best fit: Agencies with international communications, foreign-language capabilities, or digital diplomacy experience.
14. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) / Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
TSA and DHS contract for public communications supporting travel security, threat awareness, and public safety programs. The "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign is a DHS-funded initiative. Work often involves coordinating messaging across channels and languages.
Best fit: Agencies with public safety communications, behavior change, or multicultural messaging experience.
15. Social Security Administration (SSA)
SSA runs ongoing outreach for Social Security benefit programs, Medicare enrollment, and disability insurance awareness — particularly targeting aging populations and underserved communities. SSA uses both full competitions and small business set-asides for communications work.
Best fit: Agencies with seniors marketing, healthcare benefits, or public program communications experience.
How to Get on These Agencies' Radars
- Review their past awards on USASpending.gov. Search by agency + NAICS code to see who they've awarded to, at what values, and how frequently. This tells you what types of firms win their work.
- Respond to Sources Sought and RFIs. Pre-solicitation notices invite vendor input. Responding positions you as an interested and qualified vendor before the competition opens.
- Attend agency small business events. Many agencies hold vendor outreach events, industry days, and small business conferences. These are legitimate opportunities to meet contracting officers and program managers.
- Monitor SAM.gov for each target agency. Filter by agency in SAM.gov or use PitchGov to track new solicitations from your target agencies automatically.