In 1987, a rumor was circulating that Muffler World, a nationwide automotive service chain, was locking for a new agency to manage the Chicago area: Mutfler World was already on contract with a national agency and the regional agency's job would be to adapt their creative work to the local market. The Chicago region was assigned a new marbeting director who wanted to create a frech image, and while the account would be on a tight budget, the client wanted quality creative work with a fant turnaround time. The work would consist of buying and placing media space and developing free-standing inserts or "f.s.i.'s" (promotional flyers placed in newspupers), "grabbers" (promotions at the shop counterl, and "trailers" (promotions a customer received after purchasing products). While Stone and Perez had some concerns with pursuing the account, they agreed that the situation represented a unique opportunity. Because the client wanted to begin afresh, it was an opportunity for SC to shape the account while working for a highly visible client. In addition, if the dient wan indeed satisfied with SC, the relationship could lead to more work. Stone and Perez decided to pursue the opportunity and, after several presentations, they won the Mulfler World account. SC and Muffler Worid's marketing director developed a strong and productive relationahip; customer traffic was showing steady growth in the Chicago franchises. On numerous occalions, SC's solutions to particular problems were incorporated into Muffler World's national communications stratesy. But, in 1990, Guy lohnson became the new marketing director for the Chicago region. Coincidentally, Stone met Robin Sparkman, a previous Mutfler World employee, who had worked in its marketing division for five years and was eager to move into the advertising side of the business. She agreed to join SC as the account director for Muflier World with the understanding that she would later have an opportunity to work on other accounts. Johnson was pleased. Since Spariman knew the business inside out, Johnson was confident that SC would be in a strone position to address Muutler World's needs. From the start, Sparkman voiced concern that her eventual tranition off the Muffler World account would be "tricky." Emily Rodriguez on the Muffler World Account In the summer of 1991, when Sparkman asked to be moved to a new account, her initial suspicions proved correct. Johnson was concerned that Sparkman's successor would have di tficulty getting up to speed on the account. As Perer considered who would be mest capable of handing the challenge, Rodriguet came to mind: I just admire the woy she manages a piece of business. I felt that frankly, there isn't a piece of business invented that she couldn't manoge. I wanted to get some new blood on the Meffler World business. I wanted to be able to pull that person off, the person who had been on the business for so lang. I wanted her off of it to use her for other purposes. And I wontrd somebody on the business that I thought could bring them a fresh perspective. She [Emily] had a tremendous disadvantage in thar she had no automothe experience. And it is one indwaty where it's pretty critical. But I wotched her handle very, very diverse indurtries and dive right into them as if she had been in it all of her life and show greot shill in very technical and diverse industriex. f wanted to see if she could take her same serse of vision and strategy and apply it to Muffler World even though she didn't hove industry-specific experience. That was a huge challenge for her. And i thought it would be worth a tr. One manager remarked that while he envied Rodriguez for her opportunity to work on such an ISparkmorj had enarmous contocts with the client and wos well liked she was almost worthy of sainthood in the eyes of the client. They just think this womon is phenomenol. besider, it's a reiatively iabor-intenshe piexe of business from the client yide as well as the agency side its very easy for the agency as end up in a postion where they get at lot of wark dumprd an thom that isn't rightfully theirs Despite the challenges, Rodriguez agreed to work on Muffler World while continuing responsibilty for her three other actounts, whose budgets had been drastically reduced. Alhough the volume of work was trailing off, coming up with cost-efficient and creative solutions to their problems still posed ereat demands. She was relieved to know that she would at least be working with Mary Stewart, the actount executive who had been on the account for the past two years. Rodriguer described the complenities of this peribd: I was managing three other pieces of business pius Mufler iWarld when I shouli have anly bad Muffler World. My hed was spinning in a million different dinections.... [The bushers] was going through a hough vimer scies were down, there were 150 shops in Chicago and another 20 in the Clevelond market... . f was also deoling with the torporote person in Chicogo fatilef getting up to speed with the autamotive business, which is very tacticat, wery exportional, ond primanily medio. diviven. She conveyed her concerns to Perez, yet he remained staunchly encouraging: I told her that of anyone locking outomotive experience could make a go of it, it would be her. And man, she was struggling. I hept telling her / had faith in her. Daniel Burns and the Creative Perspective After receiving a masher's degree in advertining from Northwestern Untversity, Daniel Burns worked as a writer in a promintnt agency in Chicage for ten years. He then joined a start-up venture, founded by fwo former co-workers, as the agency's art director. He found this more informal environment liberating and he particularly appreciated the lack of bureaucracy. However, the firm went through some ditficult vimes. Meanwhile, Burns happened to meet Perez, who had quite a repulation an one of these rare "suits," or account people, who had successfully made the transition to the creative side. Indeted, three months later, Burns became one of two creative directors in $C 's advertising department, A year later, the other creative drectoe was laid off and Burns assamed full responsibility for the deparment. Burns described his position: I guess my job is to maintain a high level of creathity for the firm. It's almost as a goteincper. I need to make sure nothing goes dot of my department thot I don't think mointains the kind of level of ereativity that we wont to maintain. . . Fve got two troms that work under me. Fach consises of an arf directar and a writer, They bosicelly work on different acceunts... It the case of fa lorge national agency/ you could probobly hawe five teams working on the aome account. Here, we keep it separate so thot there inn't that competition between teams. flurns's office reyembled a mini-playeround, with a basketboll hoop mounted on one wall and thelets full of cereal bowes, toys, and cassettes. He described his personal style: My manogement style, I guess, is to work with my people as a team. Not to constantly remind them that I am their boss. I jump in when I nevd to jump in. I think I tend to do things that creotive directors wouldn't dream of doing because it woold moke them seem fess powerful or less important. If samebody needs me to mount the logoul an the bodid, rill do thet. whatever if tokes to get the jab dane. I dan't really know what the categories of manogement atyles are. ariff there are any, but mine tends to be a team member as apposed to a tram lesoler. One of Burn's top priorities was managing the delicate relationships between his staff and the reat of Sc. One writer described the creative director as their liaison who translated an account director's assignment into a creathe concept: Describe the new Muffler World campaign and its significance