UVA Darden Professor Kimberly A. Whitler discusses the Enterprise Activism Risk Model, a framework for looking at activism through a lens of risk. Before making a public statement, she says, executives should ask: How unifying or polarizing is the issue? And how well does a stance fit with the firm’s mission and values?
Topic
Marketing & Sales
Ideas for understanding customers, building markets, and communicating value. This topic examines consumer behavior, brand strategy, sales effectiveness, pricing, segmentation, and digital channels, helping leaders connect insight to action and create relationships that support growth across changing audiences and competitive environments.
The challenge for marketers is no longer whether to use AI, but how to choose among the flood of potential projects competing for budget. UVA Darden professor Rajkumar Venkatesan, who advises Fortune 500 companies on AI adoption in marketing, has developed a framework to help cut through the noise.
Darden professor Anthony Palomba on whether AI “actor” Tilly Norwood will resonate with audiences and the unique value that human actors bring to the screen.
Leaf peeping season is big business in Charlottesville. Darden professor Luca Cian breaks down the economic and marketing aspects of a region’s natural beauty.
A new case from UVA Darden professor Anthony Palomba explores why art matters for business, examining how creative expression shapes culture, strategy and value in the media and entertainment industries.
Taylor Swift’s 12 studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is dominating the charts and it’s due to more than the album’s hooky opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia.” Darden professor Anthony Palomba digs into Swift’s massive business plan.
Why do some brands succeed at omnichannel retailing while others falter? A new case from UVA Darden professors Raj Venkatesan and Samuel Levy and Katherine Nunner (’25) and Saru Guneja (’25) explores the Amazon dilemma through Caspari, a global publisher of design-driven paper products.
New research from UVA Darden’s Kimberly A. Whitler finds that underpaying your CMO relative to the CFO could stunt the firm’s revenue growth. When CMOs feel undervalued, their performance falters — and so does revenue. The fix? Pay your marketing chief on par with finance.
Cynthia Soledad (MBA ’02), chair of the Alumni Association Board of Directors at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, shares insights on leadership, branding and the lessons she carries from choir rehearsals to the boardroom.
Tylenol finds itself in a tough position after President Trump’s claims that acetaminophen is potentially dangerous. Darden lecturer and communication strategy expert Steve Soltis shared thoughts on Tylenol’s options as a brand and lessons that could apply to other organizations in crisis.
