San Jose Earthquakes and Aurasma Kick Off First U.S. Augmented Reality Sports Promotion

SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The San Jose Earthquakes and Aurasma, the world's leading augmented reality platform, have partnered to transform the team's 2012 logo and promotional materials into cross-media experiences that will draw fans closer to their favorite Major League Soccer team.

Using the free Aurasma Lite app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices, fans can aim their device at the San Jose Earthquakes logo anywhere in the world and view a special video message from top scorer, Chris Wondolowski, followed by game highlights.

To see a short video clip of this unique experience, click here

Using the app, the Quakes logo transforms into a video of Wondolowski before the fans' eyes, bringing sports promotion into the bold new world of augmented reality. Wherever the Quakes logo is seen, whether it is a magnet on a fridge, a poster in a bedroom or someone wearing a player's jersey, fans can unlock game highlights and access exclusive promotions. The videos, called an "Aura," and promotions will change over the course of the season to keep fans engaged.

Also, fans attending Quakes game will be able to aim their device at the San Jose Earthquakes player cards distributed to attendees in the free game program to view a special player video. Every game, the collectable player card features a different team member, and the Aura will bring that player to life on the fan's mobile device or tablet, allowing the player to personally share his hobbies, history, hopes and aspirations.

"The San Jose Earthquakes have some of the most devout fans in Major League Soccer, and we want our promotions to match that passion while also meeting the fans' thirst for more engagement with the players," said Earthquakes President Dave Kaval. "This partnership with Aurasma brings entertaining, interactive media to our club and allows our fans to connect with our players in revolutionary ways."

"The forward-thinking Earthquakes organization understands that its loyal fan base craves engagement with players beyond game day," said Jennifer Rapp, general manager at Aurasma. "Since sports teams' logos are seen on all types of merchandise it is really fun and easy to transform a poster, sweatshirt or even coffee mug into another screen to watch game highlights and engage with the players. We are excited to power the first U.S. Major League Soccer team's augmented reality experience."

The San Jose Earthquakes celebrates its home opener against the New England Revolution this Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 7:30pm PST.  The free Aurasma app is available for Apple and Android devices including iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad2.

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.

SOURCE Aurasma