Name Recognition in a Green Jacket

First of all, big time congrats to this year's Master's Champion, Zach Johnson. Zach just happens to be one of three Golf Pros sponsored by my firm. It was a thrill to see him hold on for such a career boosting victory, and an honor to see such a fine, modest competitor wear our firm's name on his vest throughout his march to victory (he was also kind enough to mention us along with his two other sponsors just before he received the Green Jacket).

I like golf. I played for a few years (not much since the kids came along though) and have an appreciation for the game. And I always try to watch at least some of each Major tournament. So one of the reason's why today was a thrill was to see one of 'our guys' win it. It was awesome to see our firm's name every time Zach was on camera. It was also nice to see the firm's name emblazed on his shirt on the front page of today's Washington Post!

Name recognition is a big concern for our firm, especially in Recruiting. We recognize that we are not a household name, surely not as well known in our industry as we would like, even though we are the fifth largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in the country. It doesn't help when our Recruiters are making calls and our prospects say, "Sorry, never heard of you".

The firm has been around for 80 years, but most of our growth is recent. Name recognition will come, and our Golf Sponsorships should continue to make the necessary impact over time. Our name has never been in the public spotlight like it was yesterday though. The hope then is that anyone who was paying attention to The Masters saw and heard the name, and will put two-and-two together if they hear from a Recruiter of ours in the future. Name recognition opens doors, it gets people interested in us, and we need that to compete for great talent.

Are most of our prospects golf fans? Will the fact that Zach won translate directly into any hires for us? Hard to say. These sponsorships are designed more for attracting clients than candidates. But there is an impact from these sponsorships, and today's victory by Zach Johnson should continue to help grow our name with clients and candidates alike. Zach is such a great fit with our firm too. He's an up-and-comer from Iowa who no one saw coming. Our firm is also an up-and-comer from Iowa. Hopefully, the difference from now on will be that prospects now and in the future will see us coming.