Undergraduate Marketing Conference - The Sustainable Shift: Transforming Modern Marketing

This past Friday, the American Marketing Association hosted the annual Undergraduate Marketing Conference. This year’s theme, The Sustainable Shift: Transforming Modern Marketing, explored how brands are evolving to meet the growing demand for sustainability. 

We welcomed guest speakers Jennifer Silberman (Dollar Tree), Chris Hatcher (Hatch) (Under Armour), Emma Vogt (CAVA), and Mariana Sasche (Jackalo) to share their professional experiences and insight about sustainability. 

To kick us off, President of the AMA Anjali Sharma and VP of Signature Events Mikayla Ferriera led opening remarks. They welcomed Jennifer Silberman to the stage as our keynote speaker, who shared her experience as the Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer of Dollar Tree. 

Silberman dove into key aspects of sustainability, including its environmental, social, and economic ties. She emphasized sustainability’s growing importance - why it matters now more than ever as consumers become more aware, information is becoming more instant, and brand’s trust are evaluated through their responsible business and sustainable strategies. She also helped us conceptualize the Trust Loop, in which a company does as it says in order for people to believe the company and put forth their trust in it - if it misaligns, trust breaks within the loop. 

A framework that Silberman based a portion of her presentation on tied back to research by Revolt (2025). This framework introduced the concept of 5 bears, each pertaining to diverse brand values, audience makeup, and appetite for risk. The 5 bears include:

1. Values Bear – universal values; unites people

2. American Bear – tradition & identity; brings in traditional and right-leaning audiences

3. Business Bear – business outcomes; right for investors, corporate stakeholders 

4. Benefits Bear – consumer value; puts the consumer at the center – attribute led

5. Advocate Bear – bold activism; challenger brands and impact-led companies 

The bottom line was that brands communicate in ways that unite people, and that winning brands don’t avoid tough issues. In terms of sustainability, brands need to be transparent in ways that are understood by their audience and in ways that align with their expectations. 

Build Brands With Purpose Panel

Following Silberman's keynote, we had our Building Brands with Purpose panel, where Marianna Sasche from Jackalo, Emma Vogt from CAVA, and Chris Hatcher from Under Armour shared their own experiences with sustainability and how their brands work towards building trust with their consumers. Mikayla Ferrio asked the panel a series of questions that offered us insight into their brands strategies and missions around building community, trust, and sustainability. 

Some questions Mikayla proposed for the panel to answer included:

1. What does “sustainable marketing” mean to your company or in your role today?

2. Consumers are more skeptical than ever. How can brands communicate their sustainability efforts without slipping into greenwashing?

3. Gen Z expects brands to stand for something, can you share a time your brand had to decide whether to speak up, and how you approached it?

Here’s a brief summary of the panelists' responses to our discussion:

Jackalo’s Circular Clothing

As the founder and CEO of Jackalo, Mariana has built her brand around a strong commitment to sustainability and community from the very beginning, overseeing every aspect of the business from the ground up. Jackalo centers its mission on circular clothing - a system in which the company buys back clothing once families have outgrown them, allowing items to be reused and kept out of landfills. Through the “pre-loved” section of her storefront, customers can actively participate in this cycle by purchasing repaired and restored pieces at a discounted price without sacrificing quality. One feature that stands out about her website is being able to add “pre-loved” items to a cart alongside new organic tees. Jackalo allows both new and restored items to be purchased together, reinforcing the brand’s emphasis on quality, trust, and its commitment to a seamless, sustainable shopping experience.

In a market driven by fast fashion, characterized by cheap, low-quality products produced quickly, Sashche emphasizes the importance of investing in durable, high-quality clothing that can be passed down and reused over time. This approach not only reduces waste, but also minimizes the need for frequent repurchasing. Mariana also highlights the importance of building trust with her customers by consistently delivering on the brand’s promises. Her loyalty program reinforces this relationship, offering members access to discounted pricing while encouraging long-term engagement with the brand.

Under Armour and Sustainability 

Chris Hatcher (Hatch), the senior manager of global brand marketing at Under Armour talked about how Under Armour’s infrastructure is built towards sustainability. The headquarters in Baltimore operate on less lighting energy, supported by their tall glass windows that rely on natural light. 

A key insight offered by this was the sustainability of not just the company’s products themselves, but also the infrastructure and energy that goes into the production of them. Hatch also talked about the materials in which Under Armour utilizes for their products, continuously evolving their materials to be longer lasting, health-conscious, and durable. In addition to product and operational efforts, he pointed to the women’s flag football campaign launched this past February as an example of how strategic initiatives can strengthen brand community. Campaigns like this not only promote inclusivity and engagement but also help build trust and lasting relationships with consumers, ultimately contributing to the company’s long-term success.

CAVA and Community

As a brand communications manager, part of Emma’s role is responding to sudden risk or flash events, making greenwashing an important thing to attend to. While sustainability is not her sole focus, she plays a key role in ensuring that any related messaging is accurate and credible. She emphasized the importance of ensuring that what CAVA communicates to consumers is both authentic and achievable, meeting not only customer wants and needs, but also their expectations.

As the company continues to grow, with 461 locations currently open and plans to expand to 1,000 by 2032, she talked about how setting realistic and attainable goals is essential. This is especially true when it comes to sustainability, where clearly defined and deliverable commitments help build credibility and maintain consumer trust.

Emma Vogt further highlighted a range of initiatives CAVA has led to support and engage with its surrounding communities. She described attending opening events that not only celebrate new locations but also serve as opportunities to connect with and uplift local communities. In addition, she shared how CAVA contributed meals to support California wildfire relief efforts, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to showing up for communities in times of need.

While, like previously mentioned, her role is not solely focused on sustainability, Emma’s work intersects with it through CAVA’s broader impact initiatives. As part of the food industry, the company’s approach to sustainability is inherently multifaceted, addressing challenges such as food waste and packaging. Sasche added to this point by noting CAVA’s partnership with Too Good To Go, an app that helps reduce food waste by connecting consumers with surplus food.

This panel offered a great opportunity to see how different industries and roles are working today to build brand trust, foster community, and advance sustainability efforts. They offered key advice and insight to our students, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, transparency, and setting realistic, actionable goals. 

Student Competitions

To conclude the speaker sessions, students partook in a competition to reposition a fast-fashion brand dominating the market currently - SHEIN. The challenge was to develop a strategic repositioning plan that rebuilds trust without greenwashing. While teams split off curating their campaigns, Chris Hatcher walked around offering key input into brand marketing strategies that are realistic and effective. Students were required to:

1. Define a Clear Sustainability Position

2. Develop a Brand Campaign

3. Recommend Channels

4. Define KPIs

Congratulations to our competition winners Lammai Nguygen, Maeve Smarick, Robin Brino, and Ian Milano! 

Concluding Remarks

Thank you to everyone who came out to UMC! A huge thank you to our incredible speakers, Jennifer, Chris, Emma, and Marianna for taking the time to share their insight! This event was a great way for students to gain a deeper understanding of marketing, sustainability, a way to apply and test their knowledge, and network with professionals & peers.