Aurasma and the Austin Chronicle Launch Digital Content Series at South by Southwest Festival

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aurasma, the world's leading augmented reality platform and, The Austin Chronicle, official Super Sponsor of the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW,) today announced an immersive digital content series that will transform how readers and SXSW attendees engage with the Chronicle's pages.

Readers will discover special digital content in The Austin Chronicle by using Aurasma's free visual browser app, Aurasma Lite. Locals and SXSW attendees will be able to bring The Austin Chronicle to life by pointing their iPhones, iPads and Android devices at the pages of the paper to see video and interactive content spring from their screens.

To see a short video clip of this experience click here.

Five distinct content integrations powered by Aurasma will be featured in The Austin Chronicle editions distributed during the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, TX, March 9-18. Among those are SXSW Interactive Preview and Music supplements, along with edition covers and other special sections with content that can be unlocked by pointing your mobile device using Aurasma Lite at the trigger images. For example, readers can point their mobile device at the Austin Music Awards ad included in Chronicle SXSW issues leading up to and during the festival and watch a video highlighting Austin Music Award posters from the last 30 years and also tap the video to connect to the Austin Chronicle mobile site.

"SXSW is the premiere destination for interactive digital media and music, and is therefore the perfect launch pad for the Austin Chronicle's first foray into augmented reality," said Erin Collier, director of marketing for The Austin Chronicle "By partnering with Aurasma, the Chronicle is transforming our readers' experiences by delivering interactive content that leaps from the page via the Aurasma app. We are excited to partner with Aurasma to usher in the next generation of the Austin Chronicle."

"Our technology allows us to help traditional media outlets, such as The Austin Chronicle, engage with their growing tech savvy audience beyond the newsstand or print edition –something on every publisher's wish list," said Lauren Offers, director of marketing, Aurasma. "We are thrilled to enhance the SXSW experience by partnering with a forward thinking publishing pioneer like The Austin Chronicle."

The free Aurasma Lite app is available to download for Apple and Android devices including iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad2. You can find new editions of The Austin Chronicle at newsstands every Thursday and online at www.austinchronicle.com.

SXSW and South by Southwest Festival is a registered trademark of SXSW, Inc and are used under license.

Helpful Links:

• http://www.aurasma.com
• http://www.facebook.com/aurasma/
• http://www.twitter.com/aurasma/
• http://www.youtube.com/user/AurasmaLite

About Aurasma:
Aurasma is the world's first visual browser – a new augmented reality technology that merges the physical world with the virtual. Available as a free app for iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad2 and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to recognize and understand real-world images and objects in much the same way as the human brain does. It then seamlessly blends the real-world with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called "Auras". Auras can be created for printed images, product packaging, clothing, physical places and users can even use the app to create and share their own.

Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has had more than three million downloads. Over 3,000 partners in markets including retail, fashion, sport, automotive, consumer electronics, entertainment, advertising and publishing are using the free technology in their campaigns, on their products or embedding the technology in their own applications. Aurasma was developed by and is part of software company Autonomy – an HP Company.

About The Austin Chronicle:
The Austin Chronicle celebrates 31 years as Austin's independent news source, covering music, film, arts, and politics, with 195,000 readers per week in the greater Austin metropolitan area.  The Chronicle is the eloquent and incisive voice of the city, expressing the community's political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene.  The Austin Chronicle is available at over 1,800 locations every Thursday. For more information, go to www.austinchronicle.com.

SOURCE Aurasma