The Anatomy of Buzz/Rosen 151-155

153 Information spreads easily within a cluster, but not as smoothly—and sometimes not at all—between different clusters.

To accelerate the rate at which the word about a product spreads, smart companies seed their products at strategic points in many different clusters with seed units.

You can use sampling programs, touring programs, or demo programs, but the principle is always the same: You give people in multiple clusters direct experience with the product. By doing so you plant a seed to stimulate discussion simultaneously in multiple networks. By seeding networks you are accelerating the regular adoption process.

155 Both of these levels are very important (media & grassroots) but it’s the grassroots level that has been generally underutilized.

A good seeding campaign goes beyond mailing sample products to a small group of press contacts and the industry elite.