ABSTRACT
Consumers-those who buy the products and goods or use the services businesses provide-are likely the most voluntary of all stakeholders. In the U.S. marketplace, consumers may be the most jaded of all stakeholders, as well, constantly provided with a variety of options, bombarded with messages and reminders of the merits, real or hyped, of the goods available. Conversely, sometimes they comprise the most loyal group of stakeholders-bound to certain brands by memories of in-home use from decades ago or allied because of features and benets derived from brands they enjoy. ey are the ones who remember slogans and jingles better than their multiplication tables, and they are the ones who willingly become walking billboards for the logos and brands emblazoned on the hats, T-shirts, jackets, and bags they carry.
