LibGuides: Advertising: Advertising

Ad Agency Search Engines

CARDOnline
Includes over 700 advertising agencies located in Canada, in addition to media associations.
TransCanada Advertising Agency Network
Provides the option to search for agencies by geography or industry.
Agency Compile
Search specific ad agencies by name or client. Use Advanced Search for many more search filters such as location, services, and industry experience. Shows complete portfolios with ads. Under “Resources” displayed at the left top of the homepage, a list of websites and professional associations in the field of marketing or advertising is provided.
Redbooks
The U.S. agency directories are available under “Agency Showcase” and “Top Agency directory” accessible from the links displayed at the bottom of the homepage.

Databases for Company Research - Advertising

Top sources for company information are listed below. Search using the name of the advertising company you are interested in, browse by industry category or keyword, or use the NAICS code shown on this page to search for competitors in this industry. For more sources, consult the Company Research guide.

Lexis Nexis Academic
Provides access to documents and records from more than 45,000 legal, news and business sources. Includes comprehensive company and industry reports, patent details, merger and acquisition analysis, bankruptcies, spin-offs SEC filings etc. The directories provided in Lexis Nexis Academic cover both publicly-traded and private companies, including those in the advertising industry.
Hoovers
A database containing information on public and private enterprises worldwide including those operating in the advertising industry. Public company information typically includes business description, industry information, financials and stock information, news, competitors list, key people and contacts. Some information is provided for private companies. The Build a List function is very useful for creating competitors lists by location, industry, annual sales, number of employees and much more.
PrivCo
Business and financial data on major, non-publicly traded corporations, including family owned, private equity owned, venture backed, and international unlisted companies including those operating in the advertising industry. PrivCo also provides information on private investors, private M&A deals, and venture capital funding rounds. Note: Users will have to create an account and log-in to Privco if they wish to go into an actual company, investor or deal profile, or download or export information.
Marketline Advantage
Features information, news, case studies and market reports for international companies, industries and countries including Canadian companies. Some coverage of companies operating in the advertising industry is provided.
Mergent Online
Search for publicly-traded companies operating in the advertising industry in Canada, the United States or other countries. Provides information for over 10,000 U.S. public companies and almost 20,000 non-U.S. public companies. Company records include detailed business descriptions, corporate histories and financial statements.

Industry Codes

When researching competitors it is very important to understand and use industry codes.

This is because industry codes group competitors operating in the same line of business. These codes define industries broadly and narrowly using a hierarchical numbering scheme in most cases. This U.S. guide to the NAICS 2022 codes provides examples.

Note that practically all company databases allow you to search for companies by applying one or more system of industry codes, e.g., NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System) or SIC (Standard Industrial Classification).

Please consult our Industry Codes guide for more information.

NAICS Industry Code: Advertising

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (NAICS Code 5418) - Statistics Canada
Consult this guide for further information on the classification structure which applies, i.e. for a list of sub-industries and the associated codes that apply.

Note the same code applies for NAICS USA.