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CFP Board’s Awareness Campaign Returns With New Commercial

By Sophia Jurgens March 18, 2026

Flowers aren’t the only thing blossoming this spring — CFP Board’s 2026 Public Awareness Campaign (PAC) is in full bloom from March 9 to May 17, delivering a new commercial and ads from CFP Board’s award-winning “It’s Gotta Be A CFP®” campaign to millions of Americans.

To kick off the spring flight, CFP Board Chief Operating Officer K. Dane Snowden; Managing Director, Marketing & Communications James Katsaounis; and Director, Advertising & Public Awareness Campaign Lori Loker discuss the campaign’s impact, results and what’s ahead in the 40-minute webinar, “Elevating CFP® Certification: The Power of the Public Awareness Campaign” on March 5.

Why a PAC?

In 2009, CFP Board’s then-CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE embarked on a listening tour across the nation to hear what CFP® professionals wanted from CFP Board. Certificants were clear: Increasing awareness of CFP® certification was a top priority. Two years later, the first PAC launched, consisting of national paid advertising, integrated public relations, social media and a consumer-facing website, LetsMakeAPlan.org.

Real-World Results

“This campaign is the most visible way we engage the public and demonstrate the value of CFP® certification,” Snowden said during the March 5 webinar. And the numbers don’t lie. Fifteen years after the launch of CFP Board’s first PAC, unaided awareness of CFP® certification has increased by 30 percentage points, according to CFP Board’s research partner Heart+Mind Strategies. In total, CFP Board saw jumps in five awareness metrics from 2011 to 2025, including:

  • A 12-point increase in total awareness;
  • A 50-point increase in those who would recommend a CFP® professional;
  • A 59-point increase in preference for a CFP® professional; and
  • A 50-point increase in intent to use a CFP® professional, reflecting three times the industry norm.

“We have not only established CFP® certification as the standard in financial planning, we’ve led the conversation on a national scale,” Katsaounis said of the campaign’s success. Every ad — whether on TV, digital or social media — ends with the call to action: “Find your CFP® professional at LetsMakeAPlan.org.” Thanks to the campaign, LetsMakeAPlan.org logged 3.7 million users last year, including more than 690,000 searches for CFP® professionals.

The Current Campaign: “It’s Gotta Be A CFP®”

CFP Board’s current campaign, “It’s Gotta Be A CFP®,” debuted in 2023 with its “Bungee” spot — a memorable ad in which a would-be thrill seeker nervously stands at the edge of a bridge, accompanied by a so-called professional handling questionable equipment with casual indifference. The adventurer nervously asks, “Are you qualified to do this?” The professional responds with: “What?”

The humor highlights a serious truth: Not asking the right questions can have significant consequences.

“The campaign strategy is to increase consumer awareness of CFP® certification and preference for working with a CFP® professional…The way we deliver on those objectives is through bold creative,” Katsaounis said.

Since 2023, the campaign has repeated the concept across a number of scenarios, including, a surgeon, an electrician and, as of March 9, a dive instructor.

The new commercial appears across TV, digital, print, audio and streaming services — or as Loker put it, “…all the places that you watch your media. That includes entering the conversation on Reddit where there are over 21 million personal finance subscribers and engaging with the PGA Tour’s combined 62 million social and digital fans.” By the time the spring flight concludes on May 17, the dive-themed commercial is expected to generate an estimated 1.6 billion impressions.

Make the Most of It

  • Toolkit: CFP® professionals can make the most of the 10-week campaign and build their brand with CFP Board’s free-to-use media toolkit, which includes email signatures, social media assets and a LinkedIn banner image.
  • LetsMakeAPlan.org: With millions of consumers visiting LetsMakeAPlan.org, CFP® professionals who want to make the most of the campaign should be sure that their LetsMakeAPlan.org profile is up to date with accurate contact information and follows best practices, including adding a clear, professional profile photo.

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