Kenyan Prime Minister Launches Augmented Reality Campaign For Presidency

LONDON, Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While the world's attention was focused on the US Presidential election, Kenya - the country that was the birthplace of President Obama's father - was quietly leading the way in the use of mobile technology in election campaigning.  Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga has turned to the very latest augmented reality technology to win support for his presidential campaign.

Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, said:

"When Kenyans go to the polls to vote for their President, their future will be in their hands and so will their mobile phones.  By using Aurasma in our campaign app, we will be able to reach out to voters in a completely new way, making it easier for them to get information about the Presidential election process and my policies if elected. It is important to make politics accessible and satisfy Kenyan's appetite for the latest technology and I am delighted to do both with the launch of this app."

To view a short video of Prime Minister Raila talking about the app, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGNcHCckRM&feature=youtu.be

The 'Raila for President' app, built by London based agency Blue Storm Solutions, features information on the Kenyan election process, up to date news and videos, alongside advanced image recognition technology provided by the world's leading augmented reality platform, Aurasma. Smartphone users in Kenya (currently 7% of the market and growing fast) will be able to use the Aurasma-enabled app to bring election posters and literature to augmented life and then click through to donate to the campaign.

Simon Elias from Blue Storm Solutions, said:

"We are a young, ambitious mobile app agency based in London, so winning global business that really makes a difference is incredibly exciting for us and we are delighted to be working with the Prime Minister on his Presidential campaign. The Aurasma platform is fantastic to work with and allows us to bring a totally new dimension to the apps we build. We are looking forward to seeing how voters in Kenya respond to the app and the augmented campaign materials."

Matt Mills, Head of Partnerships at Aurasma, said:

"It is an honour to work with Prime Minister Raila and the Blue Storm Solutions team on this important project. The Aurasma-enabled app is making it easier for voters to engage with Kenya's democratic process. We are now working with 10,000 partners in over 100 countries worldwide and are absolutely delighted that our first ever partner in Kenya is none other than the Prime Minister himself." 

For further information please contact the Aurasma press office at Mischief on 0203 128 6600 or [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

Kenyan prime minister launches augmented reality campaign for presidency   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGNcHCckRM&feature=youtu.be

Aurasma (App Store):    
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aurasma-lite/id432526396?mt=8

Aurasma (Google Play):     
http://bit.ly/tHibPU

Aurasma:   

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 leading augmented reality platform. Available as a free app for iPhones, iPads and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to blend 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 four million downloads, 400 Aurasma-enabled apps and over 8,000 partners in markets including retail, fashion, sport, automotive, education, 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.

SOURCE Aurasma