Title page
Contents
Highlights 2
Letter 6
Background 8
Categories of Specified Businesses 8
Federal Advertising Activities 9
Federal Agencies Obligated $14.9 Billion for Advertising Contracts with 14 Percent Going to Specified Businesses from FYs 2014 through 2023 10
Federal Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified Businesses Generally Increased 10
Federal Advertising Contract Obligations Are Concentrated among a Small Number of Businesses 14
Specified Businesses Made Up 39 Percent of All Businesses Awarded Federal Advertising Contract Obligations 17
DOD, HHS, and DHS Consistently Obligated Over Half of All Advertising Contract Dollars to Specified Businesses 20
DOD, HHS, and DHS Consistently Accounted for the Most Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified Businesses 20
Other Agencies Directed Higher Percentages of Their Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified Businesses 22
Federal Agencies Obligated about $1.1 Billion in COVID-19-Related Advertising with 3.5 Percent Going to Specified Businesses 25
Agency Comments 27
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 30
Appendix II: Agencies' Advertising Obligations to Specified Businesses 35
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 37
Table 1. Categories of Specified Businesses 9
Table 2. Federal Agencies' Advertising Contract Obligations with Percentage Going to All Specified Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses,... 35
Figure 1. Federal Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified Businesses Overall and Broken Out by Type, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 11
Figure 2. Total Federal Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified and All Other Businesses, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 12
Figure 3. Percentages of Advertising Contract Dollars Obligated to Minority-Owned Businesses by Racial and Ethnic Group, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 13
Figure 4. Concentration of Federal Advertising Contract Obligations among Specified Businesses, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 14
Figure 5. Concentration of Federal Advertising Contract Obligations among All Other Businesses, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 15
Figure 6. Number of Businesses Awarded Advertising Obligations by Type of Business, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 16
Figure 7. Number and Percentages of Businesses Awarded Federal Advertising Contract Obligations, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 18
Figure 8. Percentages of Minority-Owned Businesses Awarded Advertising Contracts by Racial and Ethnic Group, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 19
Figure 9. Federal Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified and All Other Businesses by Agency, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 21
Figure 10. Federal Agencies with Advertising Contract Obligations over $500 million, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 (with Percent Going to Specified Businesses) 23
Figure 11. Top Agencies by Percentage of Advertising Contract Obligations to Specified Businesses, Fiscal Years 2014-2023 24
Figure 12. COVID-19-Related Advertising Contracts-Obligations, Agency Distribution, and Number of Specified Businesses and All Other Businesses... 26