It's Gotta Be a CFP® Campaign Drives Record Awareness

The camera sweeps in on two men standing on a bridge that spans a rocky, tree-lined ravine. A man wearing a helmet and rigging perches precariously on a tiny platform and steels himself to jump off the bridge. The second man — a bungee guide who is clearly unqualified — adjusts the jumper’s equipment. A rope snaps. The guide shrugs it off, “Don’t worry about that. You’ll be fine.” Panic spreads across the jumper’s face as he stammers, “Are you qualified to do this?” A narrator chimes in, “Asking the right question can greatly impact your future — especially when it comes to your finances.”

This scene opens the television spot “Bungee,” which is part of the new public awareness campaign CFP Board launched in 2023: “It’s Gotta Be A CFP®.” The commercial contrasts the feeling of uncertainty in a high-risk situation with the confidence and feeling of security that come when working with a qualified professional — in this case a CFP® professional who is committed to acting in a client’s best interest. The message emphasizes the CFP® mark and drives consumers to ask the question: Are you a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™? The correct answer: “Yes, I am a CFP® professional.”

As the camera fades out, the message is clear: Trusting the right professional is crucial, whether it’s about taking a leap off a bridge or securing your financial future.

Growing Awareness

When CFP Board launched its first public awareness campaign in 2011, the primary goals were to increase awareness of and preference for CFP® professionals among consumers. In recent years, goals have also included growing preference for CFP® certification and expanding consumers’ intent to hire a CFP® professional.

Before the campaign began in 2011, unaided awareness of CFP® certification was 17%. That means that only 17% of the most relevant prospective financial planning clients could identify CFP® certification without prompting.

In 2023, unaided awareness of CFP® certification doubled to 34%. And total awareness of CFP® certification hit a record 90% among the target audience, up from 75% in 2011. Preference for CFP® certification among the target audience was 84% in 2023, also an all-time high and four times what it was in 2011.

A Campaign Is Born

Early in his tenure with CFP Board, CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE, traveled the country to hear a range of perspectives on CFP® certification. CFP® professionals said growing brand recognition was a top priority, and they overwhelmingly supported a fee increase to fund a new public awareness initiative. Keller, who grew up in rural Ohio surrounded by the agriculture industry, says CFP Board took a page from the playbook of the iconic advertising campaigns “Got Milk?” and “Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives,” which were funded by dairy and cotton producers through checkoff programs.

Since 2011, CFP Board has invested more than $160 million to raise awareness of CFP® certification and the importance of working with a CFP® professional.

Television ads featuring “Bungee,” which ran March 20-May 21, 2023, during tax season — when finances are top of mind — are just one component of CFP Board’s public awareness campaign. Other elements include year-round search engine marketing, display and social media advertising and clever app integrations, as well as public relations outreach.

In collaboration with Nashville-based advertising agency BUNTIN, CFP Board’s 2023 campaign involved a range of media partners, focusing on the core usage habits of the target audience.

The campaign’s target audience, dubbed the Mass Affluent Initiator, is a proprietary subset of the Mass Affluent. These individuals are 35 to 64 years old, educated, employed or recently retired, have minimum household income of $125,000 and investible assets of $100,000 to $1 million. And they meet psychographics that make them predisposed to working with a financial advisor.

“This audience consumes a significant amount of news, sports, lifestyle and financial programming,” said CFP Board’s Managing Director, Marketing & Communications Jim Katsaounis in a May 2023 webinar about the public awareness campaign.

New and noteworthy 2023 sponsorships included ESPN’s “First Take” sponsorship during the NFL Draft and NCAA’s March Madness as well as CNN’s “Before the Bell.” Prior to creative development, CFP Board conducted qualitative research with 12 focus groups in cities across the country.

Courting the Press

In addition to the public awareness campaign, effective public relations and media engagement furthered awareness efforts. And 2023 was a year of “good news” for CFP Board, with a strong focus in the media on the benefits of CFP® certification among consumers and for financial advisors.

Positive media attention included extensive coverage of CFP Board’s July consumer sentiment survey about artificial intelligence and financial advice in national media outlets including Yahoo! Finance, CNBC, Investopedia, Fox Business and The Motley Fool.

Let’s Make A Plan Website Delivers Advice From CFP® Professionals

CFP Board’s consumer-facing website LetsMakeAPlan.org also plays a key role in connecting with consumers as a trusted resource for relevant financial planning information. The site includes hundreds of timely, insightful articles and Q&A’s by CFP Board Ambassadors covering popular financial planning topics, including budgeting, investing and retirement.

The site also includes guidance on how to choose a financial planner and a searchable database of CFP® professionals.

Whether it was delivered through a news broadcast, television advertising, the trade press or a national newspaper, the message in 2023 was clear: It’s Gotta Be A CFP®.