CFP Board launches new round of ads to promote credential

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. launched a new round of advertising Monday making its most direct pitch to the public to hire a financial advisor who holds the credential.

In a CFP Board television ad, a man who looks as if he’s about to bungee jump off a bridge becomes frightened when his gear frays and the friend helping him seems to have no idea what he’s doing.

That scene fades into an office where the man on the bridge is sitting across from a financial advisor. He pensively asks her if she’s a CFP. She reassures him she is.

The ad is meant to contrast high-risk situations and the feeling of uncertainty with scenarios where the protagonist in the ad is confident and secure working with a qualified professional, the CFP Board said in a statement.

“CFP professionals are committed to acting in your best interests,” the ad voice-over says, referring to the fiduciary standard that CFPs must meet when providing investment advice. “That’s why it’s gotta be a CFP.”

The ad directs viewers to “find your CFP professional at LetsMakeAPlan," a section of the CFP Board website that contains a directory of CFP financial advisors.

The language in the current ad is a departure from previous CFP Board ads in that it explicitly encourages viewers to hire a CFP. Until now, the ask in ads over the course of the public awareness campaign was for viewers to “learn more” about the CFP mark.

The CFP Board can be more direct in its messaging thanks to reorganizing part of its operation as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit. That tax status allows it to promote CFPs with more gusto than it could in its previous 501(c)(3) configuration.

“This campaign tagline directly benefits the CFP certificant and is a clear example of the type of statement we wouldn’t have been able to make as a 501 (c)(3) entity,” CFP Board CEO Kevin Keller wrote in an email.

The CFP Board public awareness campaign launched in 2011. This current CFP ad will run on national broadcast, cable and streaming television, radio and in digital advertising through May 21. Networks where it will appear include ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the Golf Channel, HGTV and the Food Network. The streaming video version will air on Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV and Roku. Search engine and social media advertising will continue through the end of the year.

“By raising consumer awareness of CFP certification as the standard for competent and ethical financial planning, we reinforce the message that CFP professionals help more Americans achieve their financial goals,” Keller said in the statement.

The CFP Board will spend more than $12 million on the advertising campaign this year, bringing the total expenditure to approximately $150 million since its inception. The annual CFP certification fee is $455, with $160 of it allocated to the public awareness initiative.

The CFP Board hired the Nashville ad firm Buntin to produce this year’s campaign. The CFP Board sets and enforces the competency and ethical standards associated with the mark, which is held by approximately 95,000 financial professionals in the United States.