Unique Direct Marketing Campaign Will Launch Later This Year to Boost Recruitment of New CPAs.

With very enthusiastic support and an eagerness to participate from the state CPA societies, as well as strong endorsement from Council, the AICPA will soon kick off a five-year, multi-million dollar direct marketing initiative to stem the tide of young adults moving away from the profession. Impiric, a direct marketing company with extensive background in reaching the youth market, has been selected to develop an ongoing campaign that will zero in on the 60 million people aged 16 to 22 known as "Generation Y."

Using both traditional (research firm publications, dialogue with noted experts in the field) and non-traditional (shopping trips, e-panels, "cool hunting") sources to glean information about Generation Y, Impiric has identified attributes specific to members of this target market. They are individualistic but multi-cultural; they are realistic, offsetting optimism with worry; and they have an achievement focus, with more than 50% of 15-18 year olds being employed. Furthermore, because of the nature of this generation, Impiric believes the Institute can expect these young adults to be receptive to the profession's messages.

Lessons Impiric learned about these youngsters through discussions with them included: the need to focus on deliverables; letting your "brand" be true to itself (do not try to be "cool") to gain their respect; talk to them, not like them; and be interactive, leaving room for them to interpret and contribute (extensive use will be made of the Internet and other interactive mediums). In fact, the interactive component of this new student recruitment initiative is one of the three factors that make it different from all past related efforts. The others are the ability to adjust messages throughout the campaign and the continual assessment of the program's effectiveness.

In light of the Taylor Research & Consulting Group's student and academic study that cited as barriers ignorance about CPAs' different career options, misinformation about broader opportunities offered within the profession, and negative attributes that overshadow positive ones, an integrated marketing communications solution will be delivered that:

* Improves awareness of the CPA profession among high school and college student "cohort groups."

* Improves perceptions of the profession among these groups.

* Encourages enrollment in basic accounting courses and ongoing educational compliance leading to majoring in accounting.

* Increases the consideration rate of pursuing the CPA credential. Through this major student recruitment effort, the AICPA believes the profession will reverse the trend of young people not considering becoming CPAs; deliver significantly more new CPAs over the next several years; and, over time, influence institutions of higher learning to modify their programs to be Vision-aligned (research shows students find the "Vision CPA" to be quite appealing).

Stay tuned to future issues of The CPA Letter for much more on this groundbreaking new initiative.