Early adopters will likely have this Wednesday marked on their calendar, as it is the launch of the much buzzed-about 3D TV Canada. But to get the product into the hands of mainstream consumers, an interactive media strategy is essential, says Nikki Hellyer, director of marketing for Future Shop.

The retailer is introducing the 3D TV with a live discussion forum at Future Shop in Toronto and Best Buy in Vancouver, a tag-team effort with brands like Samsung. After the demo – which will be streamed online at the Future Shop forum – the Samsung Café Experience mobile café will visit key office building concourses in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

‘We will offer people a warm or cold beverage and an opportunity to watch the TV in a lounge setting,’ Michelle Sordi, sr. marketing manager, consumer electronics division for Samsung. tells MiC. Street teams will also visit Best Buy locations around the city and hand out cards with PIN numbers that allow consumers to enter to win an HDTV prize pack.

Media for the ‘A New Dimension in TV’ campaign is handled by Starcom and public outreach handled by Apex Public Relations. Traditional components include conventional and specialty TV channels, print ads in the Toronto Star, digital OOH ads and in-cinema advertisements.

Key to the campaign is the partnership with retailers, adds Sordi. ‘Buyers are more inclined to gravitate to a product that comes from a brand that has widespread exposure throughout a retail centre, because they associate that widespread exposure with confidence in quality.’

Meanwhile, Future Shop is taking a wait-and-see approach to mass consumer adoption of the new technology. ‘We’re being careful about our predictions of how quickly it will dominate the home theatre space,’ Hellyer tells MiC. Some consumers may be waiting for more 3D products or channels to launch before they make the purchase, she adds. ‘We’re being careful in our media strategy to really help educate consumers in our stores and in their homes.’