This page covers places to find statistics and data on the marketing industry, including spending. For data on consumer purchasing behavior, see our guide Doing Consumer Research.
Subscription databases, trade publications, and industry or association websites are great places to look for comprehensive, often annual, reports on the marketing industry as whole, or specific types of marketing. Some example reports include:
The North American Industry Classification System is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. The codes can be helpful when searching for industry information in subscription databases or using U.S. Census material. Codes start with two-digits at the broadest industry level, and become more specific at the six-digit level. Mexico, Canada and United States data is comparable at the five-digit code level. Other region, country, and organization-specific industry codes exist for data tracking purposes. Knowing how a particular industry or a company within an industry is classified can help when researching, since information is often organized within these codes.
| Code | Sector |
|---|---|
| 541420 | Industrial Design Services |
| 541613 | Marketing Consulting Services |
| 5418 | Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services 541810 — Advertising Agencies 541820 — Public Relations Agencies 541830 — Media Buying Agencies 541840 — Media Representatives 541850 — Outdoor Advertising 541860 — Direct Mail Advertising 541870 — Advertising Material Distribution Services 541890 — Other Services Related to Advertising |
| 541910 | Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling |
Marketing budgets can vary widely depending on the industry, size of business, geographic market, and marketing strategy. Some data is only available in aggregate, although larger, public companies may disclose marketing spending in their annual reports. Links to these resources are below. The subscription resources marked with a padlock 
are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library. In addition to these sources, try also searching for articles in trade journals using keywords like marketing or advertising costs, expenditures, or spending.
Additional publishers of marketing spending include:
Evaluating the effectiveness of different marketing strategies requires collecting and analyzing data from sales, brand awareness surveys, or other marketing outcome metrics. There are a number of articles and websites that cover how to measure the return on marketing investments, usually focused on a specific type of marketing strategy, such as e-mail marketing. Below are select books that look at return on investments in marketing and measuring marketing successes more broadly. The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.
The Social Media MBA Guide to ROI by 
Data-Driven Marketing by 
Data-First Marketing by 
ROI in Marketing: the Design Thinking Approach to Measure, Prove, and Improve the Value of Marketing by 
