The marketing drive, due to be announced at the FPA National Conference in November, aims to make more financial planners aspire to CFP certification and promote CFP widely. It would begin early next year and include a range of marketing activities, including linking the Dazza campaign, an FPA spokesman said.
FPA chief executive officer Jo-Anne Bloch will lead a debate at a Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) meeting in Hong Kong this month to discover how the FPA can leverage the global brand. The FPSB owns the CFP marks outside the United States and has 17 affiliates, including the FPA in Australia.
Promoting CFP status was highlighted in the 2006 FPA Member Survey completed by 2600 associates. "Now more than ever financial planners want a strong association that has a credible voice in the public and policy debates that are shaping the profession", Bloch said. "FPA is making organisational and policy changes to meet the needs of planners more efficiently."
In scaling the importance of FPA activities, promoting the CFP brand was rated 70 per cent. However, members rated FPA performance at -9 per cent, as negative responses outweighed the positive.Assistance with the Financial Industry Complaints Service was ranked second, after providing help with regulation, with a 65 per cent rating.
However, members said the FPA's performance was poor at -15 per cent. Members also used the survey as an opportunity to make unprompted comments. The FPA was called a 'toothless tiger' and criticised for not supporting members and having high fees. Of the Dazza advertisements, 43 per cent were unsure whether they promoted the value of advice; 27 per cent said yes and 30 per cent said no. Two-thirds of respondents to a recent brand management snapshot survey said the campaign failed to bring in new clients. Only 4 per cent said it created new leads.
