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The IQPF becomes the Institute of Financial Planning
The Institute’s new colours: The new face of financial planning education
What's the issue?
In short, an analysis of the situation, launched in spring 2022, led to two observations:
The IQPF was not widely enough known to the public.
The F.Pl. profession was struggling to recruit enough new resources to guarantee its future.
You will find more details about this in the FAQ section.
What could be done to rectify it?
Our analytical approach has led us to a solution: overhaul our brand identity. There are two aspects to our solution.
Replacing "IQPF" with "Institute of Financial Planning."
This allows us to avoid blending into the multitude of vaguely understandable acronyms and initialisms. Our full name is as clear as the advice our members offer to their clients and as complete as our training programs. By leaving out “québécois,” the Institute of Financial Planning has widened its aim, reflecting what it offers to financial planners.
Adopting a new visual identity.
Choosing contrasting colours allows us to avoid drowning in a sea of all-too-common blues and to express the vitality of the profession and the Institute. And our new symbol represents the continuous nature of financial planning and the life trajectory it supports.
In short, our plan is to be understandable and distinctive, to communicate better, attract attention, set ourselves apart and succeed.
FAQ
Answers to your top 10 burning questions!
Why are you changing your brand identity?
Mainly because of the issues of recruitment and reputation, which are closely linked. Many indicators have been showing us for a while now that, despite our efforts, we are not reaching the next generation of financial planners and training enough people to be able to meet demand from the public and major employers. This observation also intersects with the public’s lack of awareness of our organization (only 13% of people questioned in our last survey knew about the IQPF). The name and image of the IQPF were not resonating beyond our core of affiliates. Many of the explanations for this were rooted in a somewhat outdated brand identity.What process led to the new identity?A brand identity review was launched in spring 2022 to examine all the aspects of the existing brand and the changes required to reflect the objectives of our strategic plan and the needs and expectations of our clients. We also performed a competition analysis and held several work sessions and consultations with the IQPF team and stakeholders representing various profiles of affiliates, future members of the profession and major employers. Many recommendations were offered concerning our name, our positioning, the personality of our brand, our brand architecture, our values, our ambition and the tone used in our communications. Creative brainstorming allowed us to explore a variety of artistic avenues, leading to the selection, development and adaptation of the identity that you see today. Throughout this process, we made a point of anchoring our new identity in reality, which is why, for example, it was important for us to involve actual financial planners and actual future members of the financial planning profession in two photo sessions, to establish a bank of unique and authentic images.What does the new logo represent?The logo of the Institute of Financial Planning is comprised of two components: the P, in which we can also see an F, and the name. The P/F symbol, besides referring to financial planning, also evokes a life trajectory marked by plans and changes. We are no longer presenting financial planning as linear and ascending, but rather as a continuous process, because financial planners are there to support and guide us through all the twists and turns of life. This symbol is also used as coloured texture, behind or in front of photos or on a solid background, to give a distinctive personality to the brand.Why did you drop the initialism IQPF?Because outside of the circle of affiliates, those four letters unfortunately do not mean anything to most people. Since it is crucial for a brand to not speak only to itself, we decided to clarify and simplify our name identity, so there are no doubts about what we do. The Institute of Financial Planning is above all an educational institution. We are focusing on what we do best: our vocation in financial planning education. This new logo also places greater emphasis on the expression “financial planning” in order to promote it.Why did you drop the word "québécois"?Partly to avoid being confused with certain other governmental organizations, agencies or institutions, but also to open our horizons to a world where training is often done remotely and where it is not unusual for professionals from elsewhere to seek training here in what we do best. The renown of Québec’s financial planning model is well established. And the Institute, as we will call it for short, has the potential to attract students from all over the world, spreading the expertise of our instructors beyond our borders.Why is it a problem to have an initialism, such as IFP, for the Institute of Financial Planning?Because we don’t (yet) enjoy the widespread reputation of UdeM, UQÀM or the HEC. To meet our recruitment and awareness challenges, in the context where financial planning itself is not widely known as a discipline and a profession, we believe that it merits being spelt out.Why did you drop the blue?Here again we decided to explore colours other than blue to set ourselves apart from the competition (drenched in blues and reds) and to avoid being perceived as a provincial government player. We decided to ditch those cold, common blues for a palette of vibrant colours that evoke diversity, modern times and the enthusiasm that drives the Institute. Orange will be our main colour (for the letters in our logo, when we use the colour version), because it is a warm colour that instils energy and positivity and that is often associated with communication and creativity. Orange is rarely used in the financial sector, so it gives us a distinctive brand identity in the market.What does all this mean for people who received their diploma from the IQPF before the name change?It doesn’t change a thing. You will still be a graduate of the IQPF (Institut québécois de planification financière) and your diploma still has the same value. If you do another course with the Institute to further develop your competencies as an F.Pl., new digital badges with the Institute’s new identity will be granted to you, so you can display them proudly.Do I have to update my LinkedIn page?No need to change your academic history if you did your main training and subsequent courses in the IQPF years. But if you want to, you can embrace your alma mater’s new look by using one of our LinkedIn banners in the Institute’s new colours. Join the movement to proudly show that you are part of a community of passionate professionals.Will the appearance of the other tools and publications also change?Yes, but the names will stay the same for the short term. You will still see Le Planif and La Cible with the same type of content, but new colours. The website is being overhauled, and the new, revamped site will be unveiled in December 2023.
1 November 2023
