The 411 on Bonang's Bmojis

28 June 2017 - 14:04 By Kyle Zeeman
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Bonang Matheba is set to take over the App Store.
Bonang Matheba is set to take over the App Store.
Image: Instagram/Bonang_m

Bonang is set to make history as the first South African celebrity to get her own set of emojis (reaction icons)

The set, named Bmojis as a combination of the words Bonang and emojis, will launch next month as part of a massive campaign that will include the release of a book, TV reality show and dedicated mobile app.

Three emojis from the set were released online this week and soon went viral.

Here's a taste of what's in store:

What it means: Bonang is so rich she can dance in a stream of money like it is rain.

When you should use it: On payday... or any day when you are feeling rich.

What it means: Bonang is rich enough to distribute her money out the palm of her hand.

When you should use it: When you are feeling charitable or want to show someone that money is not a problem in your life at the moment.

What it means: Bonang is famous enough to have her own book but humble enough to still give you a warm smile.

When you should use it: When you want to show someone that you are so famous (even if it is only in your own head) and should be given a book deal.

Bonang's publicist Seo Mothibe told TshisaLIVE that the emojis are in the final testing phase and her team are confident of a successful launch next month. She added that they were also in advanced talks with the likes of Google and Apple to launch the emojis on the Google Play and Apple app stores.

"Bonang has been hard at work on this and other projects since she left Metro FM. She has hardly slept and has been incredibly hands on with every part of this project. She's been exhausted. She is so excited for it to launch but wants to make sure it is perfect before releasing it to the public," Seo said.

She would not confirm whether the set will include emojis of people close to Bonang, like her rapper boyfriend AKA.

Bonang follows in the footsteps of US stars Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lady Gaga in releasing the custom set of emojis.

Reality star Kim Kardashian was probably the most successful, accumulating millions with her emojis. According to New York Post, at one point during its launch in 2015 over 9,000 people were buying the $1.99 (R26) app every second. Her husband, Kanye West, claimed that when it launched the emojis "shut down the App store" and made a million dollars (13 million rand) a minute. Kim herself claimed to have made more than $80 million (R1 billion) through her app ventures.

Bonang will be hoping to replicate some of that success and her team are confident of making a massive impact on the local mobile application market.

"There are similarities between Bmojis and Kim Kardashian's Kimojis but more than that we just felt it was the right time for that market to be brought to South Africa. Bonang trends for whatever she does. We saw that again this week when she trended for releasing just one of these emojis. She will make a splash," Seo said. 

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