UNSPSC 80172000: Professional communication services

Public relations services relating to general professional communications activities and services.

UNSPSC 80172000 Professional communication services is a Class code covering public outreach, stakeholder engagement, media relations, and strategic communications work that state and local governments currently solicit to support transit authority capital projects, environmental mitigation programs, destination marketing, workforce development, and institutional communications. The code spans a broad range of deliverables including community meetings, collateral materials design, multilingual outreach, social media management, media buying and placement, crisis communications, branding strategy, and performance reporting. State and local issuing bodies purchasing under this code include transportation authorities, county and municipal government departments, workforce development boards, education service centers, convention and visitors bureaus, state tourism offices, and special-purpose districts. Orange County Transportation Authority appears repeatedly as a significant buyer, soliciting consultant support for transit marketing, environmental mitigation outreach, and capital project communications. Issuing bodies range across California, Texas, Florida, Oregon, and other states, with no geographic concentration evident in recent activity.

Recent opportunities illustrate the scope: Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) issued RFP 250350 for public outreach services supporting the Measure M Environmental Mitigation Program—a $150,000 three-year engagement covering habitat restoration communications, multilingual materials, docent program support, and stakeholder database maintenance, with proposals due July 13, 2026. The Texas Department of Agriculture issued RFP 5510000671 for Brand Ambassador Services supporting the GO TEXAN Program, seeking comprehensive statewide promotion, in-person events, and monthly reporting, with a deadline of August 4, 2026. The City of Milpitas posted RFP 26-155 for on-call communications and marketing support—graphic design, video production, media planning across digital and broadcast platforms—with proposals due July 28, 2026. The State of Texas Office of the Governor solicited tourism public relations and marketing services in Mexico (RFP 301-26-06599) and Australia/New Zealand (RFP 301-26-07406), each requiring in-market staff, media relations, social media strategy, and monthly performance reporting. Additional recent activity includes destination marketing organization services from multiple cities, media strategy contracts from municipal media services offices, and workforce development communications support. Compensation structures vary widely—some contracts use time-and-expense with hourly rates for key personnel; others employ fixed fees or performance-based arrangements. Insurance requirements typically mandate $1 million commercial general liability and professional liability coverage. Many procurements require bilingual capability and proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and standard office software.