Although it's the nation's fifth-largest accounting and financial services firm -- with annual revenues near $1.4 billion -- RSM McGladrey was looking for more exposure, especially among executives at middle-market firms.

Enter Art Smith, the company's Charlotte-based chief marketing officer and architect of the first nationwide amateur championship in the Professional Golf Association's 91-year history.

The PGA McGladrey Team Championship began in March with 15,000 players across the country and ended this month with a championship at Pinehurst. In addition, RSM McGladrey -- based in Minneapolis and with about 150 employees in Charlotte -- now endorses pro golfers Chris DiMarco, Zach Johnson and Natalie Gulbis.

Even though the firm increased its marketing budget tenfold from 2005 to 2006, it still spends much less on golf than Big Four firms such as Ernst & Young and KPMG, said Smith, who came to RSM McGladrey two years ago after working for Duke Energy and Xerox.

Its grassroots golf tournament has offered something different, though, and Smith, 44, hopes to double the number of players to 30,000 next year.

Questions and answers are edited for clarity and brevity.

Q. Where did the idea of a major golf sponsorship come from?

Our clients and market led us to golf. Extensive research showed that top executives at middle-market companies -- those with annual revenues of $25 million to $1 billion -- are avid spectators and players. In addition, the PGA shares our company's values of teamwork and professional development.

Our data also revealed that sponsoring a nationwide amateur championship instead of a PGA Tour event would establish a personal connection that would deliver a greater return on investment.

Q. What's different about your program?

Players in the team championship meet our brand face to face, going far beyond the boundaries of traditional advertising.

More than 500 local qualifying events were in small to middle-sized towns across the country, followed by 41 PGA section championships, then the national championship. This gave us a chance to host special events that deepen our relationships with clients, prospects and recruits, leading to more business and new talent for the company.

It also gave us more opportunities to engage our employees. By allowing them to compete as golfers and volunteer at local events, the entire company participated in this program.

Q. What were the challenges?

Justifying the investment required meticulous research to demonstrate the potential return on investment to Steve Tait, president of RSM McGladrey, and Mark Ernst, chairman of H&R Block, our parent company.

Before I joined RSM McGladrey, the firm spent very little on marketing. We have since substantially increased investment in growth initiatives, but only after a rigorous analysis of the market showing our No. 1 point of leverage was brand awareness.

Q. What has been the result?

The first year exceeded our expectations. More than 15,000 players participated in the team championship, Zach Johnson won the Masters and Natalie Gulbis won the Evian Masters.

All of this gave RSM McGladrey more visibility, as well as direct client and prospect returns. Since the golf program began, we have secured more than $2 million in unpaid media exposure according to Joyce Julius & Associates, a sports evaluation firm.

Surveys at the championship showed that about 65 percent of participants were top executives, and that almost 60 percent were not previous clients.

Q. What experiences from previous jobs helped you with this program?

When I led global marketing for several divisions at Xerox, I learned absolute necessity of quality-based measurement systems and the importance of employee engagement and local activation. Perhaps most important was developing the imagination and perseverance to build small businesses into very big businesses...