Case: Prestige Marketing – Prestige Marketing Inc. is a full-service marketing firm located in the Midwest with a focus on digital marketing.

Case: Prestige Marketing – Prestige Marketing Inc. is a full-service marketing firm located in the
Midwest with a focus on digital marketing. Prestige’s typical customers
include local entertainment organizations such as restaurants, concert
venues, and even the town’s minor league baseball team. Initially
founded to create websites when they became important to the
entertainment industry, Prestige has since become a full-service agency
that offers the market analysis, strategic planning, and creative services
necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing
campaign. Despite Prestige’s full-service capabilities, a majority of the
company’s business continues to be generated by its specialty in digital
marketing. When top management became aware that the full-service
capabilities of the company are currently underutilized, they decided to
increase efforts to sign customers up for a comprehensive marketing
service package.
A potential new customer is a popular micro-brewery/restaurant
(Andrea’s Ale House) in another state that has decided to expand and
open a new restaurant within the local area. They have signaled that they
are looking for a local full-service marketing firm to generate proposals
for a comprehensive marketing campaign that will promote a successful
opening and ongoing operations. Top management has created three
different teams to develop competing marketing proposals, and the best
one will be presented to Andrea’s Ale House. Each team is composed of
six members and has a team leader who is also the manager of a
functional department. The team leader is responsible for organizing,
directing, and coordinating the activities required to develop a
competitive team proposal.
The leader of Team 1 is Jerry Davis. He has been a member of Prestige’s
client services department for over eight years, and during four of those
years he served as the client services director. Jerry relates well to others,
finds it easy to identify common interests, and is viewed by many as a
valuable member of Prestige. However, several sales associates from his
work unit described him as being “obsessed with success” and “willing to
do anything to make a sale.” One former team member who was recently
promoted said that although Jerry is able to increase team performance,
his hard-driving style can become excessive and overly stressful to some
team members.
The leader of Team 2 is Sandy Newton. She has been a part of the Market
Research Department at Prestige for seven years, and during the last four
years she served as the market research director. She joined Prestige right
out of college and immediately conducted some highly sophisticated
market analyses that were seen as exceptional. There has never been a
problem too complex for Sandy to solve, and this ability has led to her
rapid rise within the company. However, some team members have
complained about a lack of challenge in the work because Sandy is
unwilling to delegate any tasks of real significance. One current member
noted that although Sandy is the best analyst in the building, she needs to
understand that solving problems for members can inhibit their
development of problem-solving skills, reduce their satisfaction with the
work, and detract from other supervisory responsibilities. Trying to do
too much of the work herself has also created high levels of stress for
Sandy.
The leader of Team 3 is Austin James. Austin has been part of the
Creative Services Department at Prestige for nearly 15 years, and during
the past seven years he has served as the department manager. Austin’s
department performs at a high level. He has good relations with other
departments and spends considerable time ensuring that they receive any
assistance they need from his department. Since he became the manager
of his department, Austin has frequently conducted team-building
exercises. He also invites members to his home for cookouts and the
chance to get to know one another outside the office. However, some
members of his department have expressed a concern that too much team
bonding can be a distraction from the work, and it also makes members
reluctant to openly express disagreements about the ways to resolve
problems regarding work.
Written by Daniel P. Gullifor and William L. Gardner
Questions
1. What are the key leadership traits, skills, and competencies of
each team leader?
2. Identify any attributes that have contributed to each team leader’s
career success.
3. What attributes of each team leader are seen by others as a
weakness, and how would these attributes make it more difficult
for the team to develop a high-quality proposal?