CNAE codes for marketing, direct marketing and advertising agencies in Brazil
The main CNAE code for marketing and advertising agencies in Brazil is 7311-4/00 – Agências de publicidade (Advertising agencies). Direct marketing uses 7319-0/03, advertising consulting 7319-0/04, and many small social media agencies register under 7319-0/99. To prospect this segment, search codes 7311-4/00, 7319-0/03, 7319-0/02, 7319-0/04, 7319-0/99, 8220-2/00 as both primary and secondary CNAE, keep only active CNPJs, then filter by company size and city.
CNAE codes for marketing and advertising agencies
CNAE (Classificação Nacional de Atividades Econômicas) is Brazil's official activity classification. Every company registered with a CNPJ declares one primary CNAE and any number of secondary ones. These are the CNAE 2.3 subclasses most used by marketing and advertising agencies:
| CNAE | Official description (pt) | English | When it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
7311-4/00 | Agências de publicidade | Advertising agencies | Advertising and digital marketing agencies |
7319-0/03 | Marketing direto | Direct marketing | Direct marketing, email marketing, messaging campaigns |
7319-0/02 | Promoção de vendas | Sales promotion | Sales promotion, trade marketing, in-store activation |
7319-0/04 | Consultoria em publicidade | Advertising consulting | Marketing and media consultants |
7319-0/99 | Outras atividades de publicidade não especificadas anteriormente | Other advertising activities | Freelancers and social media micro-agencies |
8220-2/00 | Atividades de teleatendimento | Call center activities | Call centers and telemarketing |
Search primary and secondary CNAE
Many marketing and advertising agencies register their real activity as a secondary CNAE, because the CNPJ was opened under another primary activity or because they do more than one thing. Digital agencies often combine 7311-4/00 with 7319-0/03, 6201-5/02 (web design) or 7020-4/00 (consulting). Filtering on the primary code alone misses part of the market.
Who sells to marketing and advertising agencies
Agencies buy tools and services repeatedly, and they resell to their own clients.
- Social media management, CRM, automation and reporting tools
- Stock media, video production and white-label freelancers
- Prospecting platforms so agencies can win their own clients
- Accounting firms specialized in service providers
- Coworking spaces, hardware and design software
How to build a list of marketing and advertising agencies in Brazil
- Pick the codes: start with
7311-4/00and add7319-0/03,7319-0/02,7319-0/04,7319-0/99,8220-2/00depending on what you sell. - Search them as primary and secondary CNAE.
- Keep only active registrations (situação cadastral ativa) to drop unfit, suspended or closed CNPJs.
- Narrow by location (state, city, neighborhood) and company size (MEI, ME, EPP, other). Agencies with 7311-4/00 as primary code and ME or EPP size usually have a team and a tools budget.
- Keep companies with contact data (email or phone) and save the filter as a reusable segment.
- Write a segment-specific opener and track replies in a pipeline.
1Lead runs all of these filters in one search over Brazil's public company registry, and its AI suggests adjacent CNAE codes from a plain-language description such as "I sell reporting software to digital marketing agencies in São Paulo". The product interface is in Portuguese.
Qualification signals
- Primary CNAE 7311-4/00 separates established agencies from freelancers (7319-0/99).
- Share capital and company age: agencies older than 3 years tend to have a stable client base.
- Active website and social profiles: agencies without their own presence rarely buy tools.
How to approach this segment
Agencies judge tools by their effect on margin and client retention. Show time saved per client served, or how your product becomes an extra service the agency can resell.
Example first message (in Portuguese, with translation)
Frequently asked questions
What is the CNAE code for a digital marketing agency in Brazil?
There is no single code. Agencies use 7311-4/00 (advertising agencies); email and messaging campaigns use 7319-0/03 (direct marketing); consultants use 7319-0/04; social media freelancers often use 7319-0/99.
What is the difference between 7311-4/00 and 7319-0/03?
7311-4/00 covers creating and placing advertising campaigns for clients. 7319-0/03 covers direct marketing such as mailings, email and messages sent straight to consumers.
How do I find marketing agencies in Brazil to sell to?
Filter active CNPJs with 7311-4/00, 7319-0/03 and 7319-0/04 (primary and secondary), narrow by city and size, and keep the ones with public email or phone.
Where is the official CNAE table?
IBGE publishes it in the CONCLA online search, with the full hierarchy (section, division, group, class, subclass) and notes on what each code includes and excludes.