NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 -- Datarails, the AI-powered Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) platform for Excel users, has launched a new brand mascot as part of a quirky new campaign taking a lighthearted look at the challenges faced by the CFO's Office.
The ad created by Datarails, with agency, Shortcut Playground, introduces the brand character, Bob Sheetner, aka "FPandA". The term "FPandA" is an acronym for Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A or FPandA) responsible for planning, forecasting, budgeting, and analytics within the CFO's Office.
The 60-second spot begins with a closeup of a "Same Sheet, Different Day" mug on Bob's desk in his office (FP&A professionals spend up to 8 hours a day in Excel spreadsheets). Bob is introduced as Director of FP&A (or an "FPandA") at fictional US manufacturing company, Packa Corporation. As a side hustle we see Bob is also host of Know Your Sheet, a top FP&A podcast, which in a meta touch, is sponsored by Datarails.
Bob's first guest on his podcast is Yohan, a fellow furry FP&A Director. Bob probes Yohan with a question: "Do you enjoy spending hours fixing numbers in Excel?". When Yohan answers "Nein", Bob responds with "No Sheet". The spot includes multiple Excel, analytics, and spreadsheet references, given the target FP&A and CFO audience.
The ad is airing on multiple advertising channels, including CTV, audio, YouTube and LinkedIn. Bob also has his own LinkedIn profile offering hot takes on challenges and opportunities in the CFO's Office. Other campaign elements include shipping more than 1000 exclusive Bob soft toys to top FP&A leaders and influencers-being invited to film the unboxing and share on social media.
Later this month a suited mascot version of Bob is debuting on Datarails' Instagram and TikTok channels to boost organic engagement. The mascot will be used in skits and to jump on trends with corporate humor about the daily ups and downs of FP&A and finance professionals.
Creating a brand mascot is extremely rare in B2B marketing - only a handful of companies such as Salesforce - have taken the step. It is especially rare in products selling to the CFO's Office.
Preresearch by Datarails showed 95% of FP&A professionals are ready for a mascot in the world of FP&A.
A Datarails spokesperson said: "Datarails has always tried to use humor to connect with our audience. Despite hard-coded stereotypes that were probably never true, we find that those in the CFO's Office are often the funniest people in any company. Those within the CFO's Office particularly appreciate any humor that draws attention to out-dated manual and Excel-based financial processes and which plays against outdated stereotypes. The creation of a mascot allows us to celebrate the experiences of FP&A professionals and provides unlimited creative opportunities. We are excited to see this panda's career-development."
About Bob Sheetner (aka "FPandA")
Bob Sheetner, 45, is an FPandA (Financial Planning and Analysis) legend at the renowned Packa Corporation. His journey to FP&A stardom started at Big Four firm (Bamboo Waterhole Coopers (BwC), and Bob is an FP&A enthusiast to his core (or paws).
While others see FP&A as number crunching, Bob sees it as the art of making numbers human. He believes FP&A isn't just about spreadsheets; it's about storytelling, strategy, and saving businesses from themselves.
Bob's passion for FP&A has made him more than just a corporate panda—he's a budding influencer. Bob is followed on LinkedIn for his hot FP&A takes, legendary cheat sheets, and his wildly popular podcast, "Know Your Sheet," which has seen double-digit downloads.
His latest LinkedIn post, "5 Ways to End Black and White thinking in Finance", has been reshared 12 times. When he's not saving the company from financial ruin or recording podcast episodes at his desk, Bob's LinkedIn presence keeps growing. While Datarails doesn't directly employ Bob, they've made him an unofficial brand ambassador and sponsors his podcast. At the same time, Bob proudly uses Datarails at Packa to simplify his endless spreadsheeting (FPandAs make an average of 40 sheets a day). And Datarails is the number 1 FPandA™
platform. Connect with Bob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fpanda
About Datarails
Datarails is the AI-powered Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) for Excel users. Keep your own Excel financial models and spreadsheets and benefit from AI for data consolidation, reporting and planning.
Credits
Client: Datarails
Production: Shortcut Playground| scpg.tv
Chief Creative Director: Adam Feinberg
Script: Nir Levy
Animation Director: Neta Holzer
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