The consumption activity I participate in most frequently in is watching television. I

unequivocally count as a heavy user1, I am currently watching ten tv shows currently airing and working

through three shows that have already completed their runs.

Supernatural, a show about monster hunter brothers, used to be my one of my favorite shows

but has recently seen a decline in quality relative to newer shows. My personal preferences have also

changed quite a bit and the show now seems a little heavy on misogynistic and homophobic jokes. I

continue to watch the show because after watching nine seasons I am invested in the characters and

can’t imagine not watching it. This brand equity2 was built by the repetition of my early consumption.

Recently there have been an influx of superhero television shows, like Gotham, Arrow, Flash,

and Marvel’s Agents of Shield. These all involve characters I am familiar with from reading comic books

in high school. These characters have great brand equity from this personal experience, so these

product line extensions3 was very successful in gaining my immediate interest. Additionally, these shows

all serve the same niche of geeky consumers. I’ve always liked superhero shows but I find that recently

I’ve grown to like them even more. I attribute this to the excellence of the recent Marvel movies,

especially Avengers. This is a form of stimulus generalization4, as my excitement about the movies

transfers to the new television shows, even with other characters from different companies.

When I was younger, I watched a show called Avatar: The Last Airbender religiously. It was my

favorite show and it always reminds me of my brother, who often watched it with me. When I rewatch it

nowadays it evokes those same positive feelings from my younger years. These good feelings are a form

of classical conditioning5. A new series, called Legend of Korra, takes place in the same world seventy

1 A consumer who uses a company’s product in large amounts.2 A brand that has strong positive associations in a consumer’s mind and therefore retains their loyalty despite other factors. 3 Related product to an existing brand possibly extending to a new medium or audience.4 When positive attributes of one product are applied to other competitor’s products.5 When an stimulus that naturally has a positive association (hanging out with my brother) is paired with another stimulus (Avatar: The Last Airbender) that initially does not have that association but gains it from its pairing with

years later. This series heavily and effectively use nostalgia in its advertisements. This show is especially

popular even though its target audience is older than traditional for Nickelodeon.

I’m not the only one who is heavily involved with their shows. I frequent sites that house

consumer-generated content6 about television shows, everything from fan fiction to fan art to

surprisingly through analysis. Some of these cult products7, like Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Batman have

massive fanbases that span decades and millions of people. It doesn’t necessarily have to be popular in

order to catch my interest, for example a show called Wolfblood has its own charm in its scarcity8. It’s

cool to have seen something that no else has even heard of.

I also subscribe to many a newsletter from various television websites. Newsletters are one of

the most common form of permission marketing9. Another effective form of permission marketing is

trailers. While also seen on the air where they not permission marketing, often they are also sought out

online by fans and potential fans. For the cult shows, these advertisements are analyzed by the second

and create a frenzy of online activity, this social pressure10 is the one of the things that keeps me excited

and anxious to see shows return even after hiatuses of two or more years.

the original positive association despite the absence of the original stimulus (hanging out with my brother)6 Content about product made by consumers, including reviews, extensions, discussions, and criticisms 7 A product that demands or elicits a deep loyalty from its fans8 Scarcity is the sense that a product is rare or unique. Sometimes this can make a product more desirable because it makes the user feel special when they use it.9 Marketing that a consumers is exposed to because they sought it out specifically rather than they just come across it.10 The power of our social networks to influence our consumer decisions.