Sanjay Sood

Sanjay Sood is a Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Holding a Ph.D. in Marketing from Stanford University and an MBA from Kellogg, he emphasizes integrating real-world executive experience with academic rigor through co-teaching models with C-suite professionals from MGM, P&G, and Google.

• Ph.D., Stanford University (1999)
• MBA, Kellogg (1992)
• B.S., University of Illinois (1987)

His research focuses on brand management and behavioral decision making, examining how brand names influence consumer behavior and how people make choices between products and experiences. He explores concepts like brand dilution, preference construction, and experiential happiness.

Recent publications analyze extremeness aversion in preferences, the psychology of loss aversion, and brand naming strategies. His work connects marketing principles with public policy and managerial practice, particularly in entertainment industries and global branding.

As a founding faculty member of UCLA Anderson's Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment & Sports, he studies the evolution of movie franchises as brand entities. He also investigates the narrative processing of experiences versus products in collaboration with industry executives.

• Co-developed live project teaching model with MGM/P&G/Google executives
• Led field trips to startups and major corporations
• Created frameworks for brand extension evaluations
• Researcher at Anderson Behavioral Lab
• Expert in brand dilution and choice architecture