JOHANNESBURG: The voting phase of the first ever BBM Stickathon competition is now closed. The competition has been running for two weeks, and has already attracted an impressive array of entries from South African graphic designers and illustrators. The excitement is heating up as entries closed at midnight on Wednesday 16 December 2016.
Twitter_14 December

FB_15 December

Within the remaining two days, every designer (from doodlers to the very experienced) can still register on www.bbmstickathon.co.za and create and submit their signature ‘sticka’ ranges (chat icons) that draw on South African experiences and colloquialisms, to bring unique Mzansi expressions to life.

Matthew Talbot, Senior Vice President, Emerging Solutions at BlackBerry said: “The idea for this competition stems from our desire to enrich the South African BBM user experience by tapping into the vibrant cultural tapestry of the local market. This is why we approached local content marketing agency SoulProviders to bring this idea to life. So far the designs have really brought out a unique South African flavour, and it’s exciting to see the creative interpretation of our competition brief. We’re going to be hard-pressed choosing the winners!”

The winning sticka signature ranges stand the chance of being featured on the prolific BBM messaging app for South Africans to add personality to their chats. In addition to all the street-cred, the winning entrants will also receive design equipment perfect for setting up their very own design studio. “We’re offering an Apple iMac 21.5” as first prize and this comes with a Wacom Pro Medium drawing tablet, to enable a constant flow of creativity,” said Talbot. Other prizes include a MacBook Pro and several Wacom drawing tablets, enabling the winners to continue to harness their creativity.

“Now it’s up to the public to vote and help the judges to select their favourite localised sticka ranges that they would most love to see and use on the BBM app,” he said. Valid entries are already featured on the website (so you can check out the competition), and the public can already start picking out their favourite sticka set. Anyone voting automatically stands the chance to win one of several BlackBerry phones.

The winners will be announced on Tuesday 22 December 2015 and the winning sticka ranges will be available for download on the BBM Shop thereafter. South Africans can download BBM on Android, iOS, BlackBerry or Windows Phone devices to use these uniquely South African stickas.

For Terms & Conditions, please visit: http://bbmstickathon.co.za/terms-conditions/

BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of BlackBerry Limited.