CFP Board Pivots on 'Perfect Job' Campaign After Backlash

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has made key changes to an advertising campaign that had sparked the ire of some credential holders for making light — intentionally or otherwise — of the challenges and responsibilities facing fiduciary financial advisors.

In the words of the CFP Board, the "Quite Possibly the Perfect Job" campaign was created to encourage high-school and college students to explore a career as a CFP professional. It features a series of short videos and related still photos that have been posted in various online venues including YouTube and LinkedIn.

The campaign's lighthearted approach to portraying the planning profession — as the next-best job compared with mock careers such as "bubble bath sommelier" and "professional daydreamer — missed the mark for many. Feedback from the industry ranged from confusion and bemusement to downright anger at the direction the campaign had taken.

Now, it appears that the CFP Board has acknowledged the critics, with CFP Board CEO Kevin Keller addressing their feedback in an open letter attached to the regular CFP Board newsletter for October.

"To those who have shared feedback about the campaign ads, thank you," Keller wrote. "We are listening. Your pride in CFP certification is clear. And your stories about why financial planning is your perfect job are inspiring. Your input is helping us to strengthen the campaign and enhance our approach to reaching college and college-bound students."

Specifically, the CFP Board has updated the imagery and language of the static ads that appear on social media. The static ads, much more than the video versions, were seen by some CFPs as suggesting financial planners were lazy or self-centered.

The refreshed ads include context that seeks to better captures the essence of being a CFP professional, Keller said.

"We have also further refined the age targeting so that our ads are more likely to reach high school and college students," Keller noted. "The revised campaign will run through the end of the year."

Ultimately, Keller said, the campaign's "goals are straightforward: to raise awareness of financial planning as a rewarding, impactful career and to increase enrollments in baccalaureate CFP Board Registered Programs.

"But the path ahead is challenging," he said. "Awareness of financial planning as a career is extremely low among young people. Bright, capable students often stumble on the profession by accident, even when their universities offer financial planning degrees. We aim to change that by inspiring young people to pursue this profession and create a robust pipeline of future CFP professionals."

Keller said the campaign, despite its hiccups, is starting to do just that, as hundreds of students have signed up to receive CFP Board's Guide to Careers in Financial Planning.

"We are deeply committed to raising awareness about careers in this tremendous profession," Keller said. "And we look forward to connecting with more students as the campaign continues, raising awareness of financial planning as an attractive profession in the months and years ahead."

Pictured: Kevin Keller