Universal Pictures? newest promotion for animated film Sing is taking advantage of the power of selfies as a promotional tool.

The film studio is partnering with selfie mobile application Lumyer for the promotion. Consumers can take photos with audio and video clips from the film.

"Working with Universal Pictures' Sing is an incredible opportunity for Lumyer," said Diego Mortillaro, co-founder of Lumyer. 

Universal Pictures? Sing is the latest big animated film to hit mainstream theaters and the studio is going all out to make sure consumers are ready for it.

In addition to some high-profile spots, including a stint on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon where the characters sang Christmas songs, Universal is also bringing their characters to the smallest screen with an integration with Lumyer, a selfie app.

Lumyer lets consumers take and customize selfies (called Lumys), decorating them with images and other customization materials.

Lumyer is now bringing a sponsored suite of customizable options to its app branded with Sing messaging and imagery.

The Lumyer app provides customers with a way to add video and, most importantly for Sing, audio to their selfies. Customers will now be able to add a whole host of content related to the film to their photos.

This content includes music from the film as well as video and images of the characters.

The partnership comes after Lumyer landed the number two spot on Google Play?s top trending apps of the year.

Universal Pictures is cashing in on that popularity with this sponsored integration.

While high profile ad spots are the norm for big properties such as films, it is becoming increasingly the norm for these properties to be marketed through more personal, mobile channels as well.

Sing is a perfect example of that, bringing its characters and music to customers? phones for organic user-generated content.

Other film properties have been working on similar premises.

Recently, Lucasfilm live streamed interviews and coverage of Rogue One through Twitter, bypassing traditional marketing channels and opting for a more direct approach (see story).

More similar to Sing, Sony Pictures recently made use of interactive Snapchat filters to promote its new Undeworld film Blood Wars (see story).

These types of promotions offer a good way for brands to market their films, which so often are promoted through more impersonal channels such as billboards and TV coverage, in a direct way, relating to customers personally and allowing them to make their own mark on the film in the form of customizable selfies.

These selfies also serve the purpose of being shareable, creating an organic opportunity for consumers to promote the film themselves by sending the selfies to their friends.

"The Lumys created will engage audiences and let them interact with the characters before and after the movie."