Certifications on ESPN and MSNBC:
How CFP Board’s Public Awareness Campaign
Helps All Certifications Gain Attention

When was the last time you saw your certification in a television ad on ESPN or in the pages of The Wall Street Journal?

In April of this year, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards started a large-scale Public Awareness Campaign to raise awareness of the CFP® certification. And yep, among the places you saw their ads as part of this 4-year $36 million campaign included outlets like ESPN, MSNBC and in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

So far the results of the campaign have been impressive as Americans are becoming more aware of the CFP® certification and the value it brings. More importantly, CFP Board has brought needed-attention to the value certifications bring to those who hold them and the people/organizations they serve.

While all of us may not have millions of dollars to invest in such a campaign, there are valuable lessons we can learn about how to raise awareness and bring attention to our own individual certifications.

Come here CFP Board Chief Executive Officer Kevin R. Keller, CAE reveal some of the secrets to CFP Board’s success. In our meeting, Kevin will talk about:

The need for organizations to have an awareness campaign to shine a spotlight on certifications, bringing much needed clarity to an often confused public;

• How research and getting buy-in from stakeholders and members is critical to a campaign’s success;
• The mix of advertising and communications tools CFP Board is using to get its message out along with preliminary results of tracking research being conducted; and
• Ways organizations create their own awareness campaign, even on a shoestring

Find out more information about the campaign at www.LetsMakeaPlan.org or click one of these links:

http://www.LetsMakeaPlan.org
http://www.cfp.net/media/release.asp?id=275#link4
http://www.cfp.net/downloads/Fact_Sheet-CFP_Board_Public_Awareness_Campaign.pdf

About the Presenter

Chief Executive Officer, Kevin R. Keller, CAE

Kevin R. Keller is Chief Executive Officer of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.

Mr. Keller joined CFP Board in May 2007 after serving 16 years with the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), a membership organization which provides products, education and training for treasury and corporate finance. At AFP, he held the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer for the prior seven years and managed programs and services for the 16,000-member organization. He led the organization’s strategic planning process and enhanced and grew the Certified Treasury Professional credential.

Since joining CFP Board in May of 2007, Mr. Keller has:

• Directed the organization’s move in 2007 from Denver to Washington, DC, and hired 55 staff members
• Established CFP Board as a strong advocate for consumer and investor protection by implementing a fiduciary level of accountability on those individuals who use the CFP® mark in the delivery of financial planning services and working extensively with individuals, as well as firms that employ those individuals, to ensure compliance with those standards – the highest in financial planning
• Built a public policy infrastructure to ensure policy makers understand and appreciate the benefits to the public of a credentialing model built on examination, education, experience and ethics predicated on the fiduciary duty of care – the baseline standards established by CFP Board
• Led the reengineering and implementation of the organization’s disciplinary and enforcement process to increase transparency and accountability by including “public” non-certificant volunteers on hearing panels, with the objective of assuring safeguards for the public and a fair process for certificants

Please plan to join Kevin December 7^th at the time and place below to learn more: