CFP Board launches ads on NPR

National Public Radio listeners are hearing an advertisement that encourages them to turn to a financial planner for guidance on their investments. The NPR ad campaign, which began Monday and runs through mid-November, is the latest phase of an awareness campaign sponsored by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. “It's a good demographic for potential clients of CFP [mark holders],” CFP Board chief executive Kevin Keller told reporters at the Financial Planning Association's annual conference in San Antonio. “They're our target market.” The four-year, $40-million advertising effort was launched more than a year ago to enhance consumer recognition of the CFP credential. So far, it seems to be working. The CFP Board has conducted two online surveys of 604 investors with assets of at least $100 million. The latest poll, conducted in April, shows that awareness of the CFP designation has increased to 24%, from 19% since the first poll was taken at the outset of the campaign in April 2011. “We feel very pleased with the results we've had,” Mr. Keller said. “We're looking to build on that going forward.” The campaign, which also has included spots on national cable television and print ads, is being financed by a $12 per month increase in CFP Board fees. The investment has paid dividends, according to FPA president Paul Auslander. In his opening remarks at the FPA conference, he praised the CFP Board for mounting the advertising campaign. “It takes guts and money to lead,” Mr. Auslander said. The branding campaign is part of the effort by the FPA and the CFP Board to make the CFP mark the pre-eminent credential in the investment advice field. In San Antonio, officials of the two groups have been promoting the mantra, one profession, one designation. Pushing the CFP mark to the forefront has caused controversy, including a sharp rejoinder from the American College, which offers the CFP certification program, along with a number of other marks. The CFP program is taught at almost 200 educational institutions. Mr. Keller said that the focus on the CFP “is important for the continuing emergence of the financial planning profession. There's so much public confusion.” The CFP Board grants the CFP credential and upholds the educational and ethical standards attached to it. There are about 67,000 CFP mark holders in the United States.