NACE 73.1 – Advertising | Public Tenders

Definition: NACE 73.1 covers advertising agencies, PR agencies and media buyers that develop, design and place advertising messages. In the public sector, communications contracts for public-authority campaigns, public relations and digital communications are gaining importance and, above certain value thresholds, fall within procurement law.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: January 2026

What does NACE 73.1 cover?

NACE 73.1 (Advertising) classifies companies that develop and market communications services — from creative concept to media buying — and is one of the growing service areas in public procurement.

Group 73.1 within Section M and Division 73 is divided into two classes:

Public contracting authorities award communications work to advertising and PR agencies for information campaigns (e.g. health awareness, road safety), institutional communications and digital presence.

Public Tenders: NACE 73.1 in Practice

Public communications contracts span a broad spectrum — from a municipality's poster campaign to a multimedia EU-wide information campaign run by a federal ministry.

Typical types of contract

• Government and information campaigns: Health prevention, vaccination awareness, road safety campaigns, energy and climate communication for ministries and federal agencies
• Institutional communications and CI: Development or revision of corporate design, style guides and mission-statement communication for public institutions
• Digital communications and social media: Editorial support, content creation and social media campaigns for public-authority accounts
• Print products and publications: Design and production of brochures, annual reports, flyers and posters for public bodies
• Event communications: Trade fair presence, exhibition concepts and event marketing for state institutions
• Media planning and buying: Strategic planning and placement of advertisements in print, digital and out-of-home media

Award procedures for communications services

Advertising and PR services are service contracts and are awarded under VgV (EU-wide) or UVgO (below threshold). The preferred procedure is the negotiated procedure with prior call for competition, since creative services require a negotiation phase. For contracts with a significant design component, a creative competition along the lines of the RPW can be conducted. The EU services threshold is EUR 221,000 (as of 2024/2025) for classical contracting authorities.

Relevant CPV Codes for NACE 73.1

Communications and advertising contracts can be found on TED and national platforms via specific CPV codes.

Current tenders with these CPV codes are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) and on national procurement platforms.

Who is NACE 73.1 relevant to in procurement law?

Public Contracting Authorities

Federal ministries and their press and public-relations units are the largest contracting authorities by volume for communications services. Particularly active are health ministries (prevention campaigns), transport ministries (safety campaigns), economics ministries (location marketing) as well as the Federal Press Office (BPA) in Germany and the Federal Chancellery in Austria as overarching communications bodies. Municipalities award contracts for city marketing, tourism promotion and citizen-facing communications.

Companies and Bidders

Agencies participating in public communications tenders typically need to demonstrate:

• Reference projects: Comparable communications contracts (client, campaign size, target audience, media channels)
• Staffing: Qualifications of the project leads and the creative and media experts deployed
• Economic capacity: Minimum annual turnover, professional indemnity insurance
• Technical resources: Production capacities, technology platforms, printing certifications

Bidding consortia combining a creative agency, a PR agency and a media house are common for full-service tenders. Reliance on third-party capacity for specialised media expertise is also permitted.

NACE 73.1 in Context: Section M and Division 73

Together with NACE 73.2 (market research), NACE 73.1 covers the communications infrastructure underpinning the external presentation of public institutions.

• NACE M – Professional activities: Parent section
• NACE 73 – Advertising and market research: Parent division
• NACE 73.2 – Market research and public opinion polling: Population surveys, statistics
• NACE 72.2 – R&D in social sciences and humanities: Social science research

Frequently Asked Questions on NACE 73.1 and Public Tenders

Are all communications contracts awarded by public bodies subject to procurement law?
In principle yes, as soon as the relevant thresholds are exceeded. Below EUR 25,000 net (Germany, UVgO), contracting authorities may award directly. Many public bodies enter into framework agreements for recurring services such as social media management or print design.

How are creative services assessed under procurement law?
Creative services cannot be standardised and therefore require a procedure that allows for negotiation. The negotiated procedure with prior call for competition is the standard. Contracting authorities must define clear award criteria — purely subjective creative judgments are problematic under procurement law.

Can an agency retain media rebates?
In public contracts, media rebates and cash discounts are usually passed on to the contracting authority. This is regularly part of the tender conditions and should be reflected in the bidder's costing.

How long can framework agreements for communications services run?
Under procurement law, the duration of framework agreements is limited to four years. Many public bodies enter into two-year contracts with an extension option to preserve flexibility around changes of government.

Last updated: January 2026
All information is provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.