Brand, Launch & Growth Strategy
Help that
shows up.
One platform connecting The Building Company's brands, customers, contractors and projects — and the strategy to launch it, grow it and make it a habit.
One strategy. Eighteen moves.
Every section builds on the one before it — from the opportunity, to the brand, to launch, growth and measurement. Jump anywhere, or start at the top and scroll.
The Opportunity
One platform across a powerful brand network.
One ecosystem, connected at the centre
The Building Company has a strong network of brands, each serving customers individually. Thuso creates the opportunity to connect them through one digital platform, sitting at the centre of the ecosystem.
Each brand keeps its own identity, while Thuso brings them together to create one connected customer experience.
It all exists. Just not together.
-
Quoting software
Exists -
Project management
Exists -
Ecommerce
Exists -
Messaging
Exists -
Digital accounts
Exists
One connected platform
Thuso's difference is the connection between them.
Thuso should not be marketed as a collection of features. It should be positioned as a connected building ecosystem.
The full journey, one app
Shop
Browse materials, compare pricing, check stock and order across participating brands.
Manage
Access accounts, virtual cards, transactions, invoices, statements and PODs.
Quote
Create professional quotes, add materials, labour and markups and send directly to customers.
Build
Turn approved quotes into projects, manage tasks and timelines and track progress.
Connect
Chat, share images, approve quotes and keep customers informed throughout the project.
Complete
From purchase to project completion — all through Thuso.
Brand Positioning
The promise already sitting inside the name.
Help that shows up.
Rather than inventing a brand story around the technology, we build the brand around the promise already sitting inside its name.
Not help sitting behind a counter. Not help hidden in an inbox. Not help you still have to drive across town to find.
Help that actually gets to where the job is.
At home. At the office. On site.
Thuso should not be positioned around one feature. Its strength is its ability to connect the building journey.
Every build, connected.
What Thuso stands on
The Vision
To create a more connected building industry where customers, contractors, brands and projects work better together.
The Mission
To simplify the building journey by bringing the tools, products, information and communication people need into one accessible digital platform.
Brand Promise
Help that shows up.
Brand Expression
Thuso — a South African word for the way South Africa builds.
Brand Belief
The job is hard enough. Getting what you need to do it shouldn't be.
The strongest digital brands eventually become shorthand for an action, like "Just Google it", "Just WhatsApp it" or "Just Uber there." The long-term ambition is that Thuso becomes the verb.
"Just get it on Thuso."
Not recognition alone. Habit.
Two ways Thuso could speak
Confident, clear, purposeful
Thuso speaks with confidence, clarity and purpose. The voice is simple, direct and helpful, making complex building tasks feel easier without sounding overly technical or corporate.
It focuses on what the user can get done — faster quotes, easier ordering, better project visibility, simpler account management — using short, benefit-led messaging that is easy to understand and easy to remember.
Thuso should feel like a capable partner: reliable when you need it, straightforward in how it communicates and always focused on keeping the job moving.
Clear enough to understand. Confident enough to trust. Useful enough to come back to.
Relatable, witty, unmistakably local
Thuso speaks like South Africa speaks — relatable, straight-talking, witty and unmistakably local. The name itself means "help" in Sesotho, and the voice brings that meaning to life: practical, approachable and always ready with a simpler way to get things done.
Using familiar South African expressions, everyday frustrations and clever local humour, Thuso should sound like the person who gets it — and gets it sorted.
Familiar enough to relate to. Clever enough to remember. South African enough to own.
The Audience
One platform. Different reasons to use it.
The Contractor
"Help me run the job and the business."
Who they are
A contractor, tradesperson or small construction business managing several jobs, customers and material requirements at once.
What they need
To quote quickly, look professional, manage costs, order materials, update clients and keep projects moving without spending too much time on admin.
Their frustrations
- Creating quotes manually or after hours
- Switching between WhatsApp, email, spreadsheets and supplier systems
- Constant customer follow-ups
- Driving between stores and sites
- Managing material costs, markups and labour
- Keeping customers updated while trying to get the work done
What Thuso gives them
The Everyday Homeowner
"Help me get what I need without the hassle."
Who they are
A homeowner taking on a renovation, repair, improvement or DIY project — whether they are doing it themselves or buying materials for someone else to complete the work.
What they need
To get what the project needs without the hassle — products, prices, stock and delivery sorted in one place.
Their frustrations
- Visiting multiple stores looking for products
- Not knowing whether stock is available
- Comparing options and prices
- Transporting bulky materials
- Searching through emails for invoices or account information
- Feeling overwhelmed by the buying side of a building project
What Thuso gives them
The Project Owner
"Help me know what is happening with my property."
Who they are
A homeowner or property owner who has appointed a contractor and wants confidence that the project is progressing as expected. Particularly relevant for customers who live in another city or overseas and cannot regularly visit the property themselves.
What they need
Visibility, communication and peace of mind.
Their frustrations
- Constantly asking the contractor for updates
- Not knowing whether work is on schedule
- Difficulty keeping track of what has been approved
- Communication disappearing across WhatsApp and email
- Being unable to physically check progress
- Feeling removed from their own project
What Thuso gives them
The Commercial Owner
"Help me control purchasing and accounts more efficiently."
Who they are
An established contractor, construction company, developer, maintenance business or trade operation managing multiple projects, employees and regular material purchases.
What they need
Greater control over purchasing, accounts, staff activity and projects — without adding more admin.
Their frustrations
- Managing multiple purchases, projects and sites
- Staff collecting or purchasing on behalf of the business
- Tracking invoices, PODs, statements and account activity
- Coordinating deliveries
- Quotes and admin slowing down operations
- Lack of one central view of business activity
What Thuso gives them
They bring customers into Thuso.
Contractors should be a priority launch audience. Their need for Thuso is recurring rather than occasional — and one active contractor can create multiple new customer touchpoints. That makes contractors an acquisition engine, not simply an audience.
Project supplies, without the trip
Find it
Browse what you need.
Check it
See price and availability.
Order it
Purchase from the app.
Get it
Collect or have it delivered.
Access it
Keep account and transaction information together.
Migration
From 2SO & BUCO GO to Thuso.
Migration objectives
- Create awareness of the change
- Explain why the change is happening
- Communicate what customers gain
- Make activation simple
- Create urgency before retirement
- Minimise customer-service friction
- Drive users into their first Thuso action
The migration journey
Introduce
Meet Thuso. BUCO GO is moving.
Show what users gain.
Activate
Your Thuso account is ready.
Download. Verify. Continue.
Educate
Learn it in pieces.
Introduce the new functionality in manageable pieces.
Remind
The clock is ticking.
Build urgency as the retirement date approaches.
Transition
BUCO GO retires.
The old app switches off. Thuso carries on.
31 October 2026Every touchpoint carries the message
The message should follow the customer. If someone interacts with the business, there is an opportunity to introduce Thuso.
Feature Messaging
Short, benefit-led messaging — easy to understand, easy to remember.
The Launch Arc
One narrative from teaser to always-on marketing.
Help is coming.
- Anticipation
- Teasers
- Mystery
- Countdowns
- A sense that something is about to change
We don't show the whole hand yet.
Help is here.
- The reveal
- Product demonstration
- Launch campaign
- PR
- Creators
- Stores
- Competition
Help is on the way.
- Now the idea becomes functional
- Order something
- Send something
- Build something
- Help moves
Strategic Objectives
What the launch needs to achieve.
Establish
Create a clear identity, purpose and position for Thuso.
Migrate
Successfully move existing BUCO GO and 2SO users into the new Thuso environment.
Build Awareness
Introduce Thuso and establish what it does.
Drive Acquisition
Generate downloads and registrations across priority audiences.
Drive Activation
Encourage users to complete meaningful actions — not simply download the app.
Build Habit
Give users ongoing reasons to return to Thuso.
Generate Commercial Value
Increase purchasing, transactions and engagement across the ecosystem.
Build Intelligence
Use Thuso data to better understand audiences, behaviour and marketing performance.
Campaign Ideas
Whatever you're building, Thuso helps you get it done.
"Build more with Thuso."
Build your business with Thuso.
Build your next project with Thuso.
Build more efficiently with Thuso.
Celebrate what South Africa builds
Don't only market the app — market the people using it. This gives the brand an emotional layer beyond product demonstration and creates endless opportunities for real stories. It fits naturally with The Building Company's existing community language around building homes, jobs and communities.
- The contractor building their first business
- The family renovating their first home
- The shopfitter opening another store
- The carpenter creating something from scratch
- The builder putting up another house
- The person fixing what needs fixing
South Africa builds.
Thuso helps keep it moving.
The old way vs the Thuso way
Make the benefit impossible to miss. Simple comparisons explain the features faster than feature lists.
The old way
Get home. Open the laptop. Find the spreadsheet. Build the quote. Email it tomorrow.
The Thuso way
Build it on site. Send it now.
The old way
Drive to store. Discover something is unavailable. Drive somewhere else.
The Thuso way
Check first. Order. Get it delivered.
The old way
"Any update on the build?"
The Thuso way
Open the project. See what's done. See what's next.
The old way
Search your inbox for the invoice.
The Thuso way
Open Thuso.
"Ja, no,
just use Thuso."
A distinctly South African campaign built around the everyday frustrations of getting a building job done. Each piece of content starts with a familiar pain point — running between stores, waiting in queues, chasing prices, doing admin after hours — and the frustration builds until the answer becomes obvious.
The phrase feels naturally South African, conversational and memorable — positioning Thuso as the simple solution when the old way becomes unnecessarily difficult. Over time, it moves Thuso beyond something people download to something people naturally say and do.
The long-term ambition: make Thuso the verb. "Ja, no. Thuso it."
The Funnel
Every stage has a job, a channel mix and a measure.
Make people know Thuso exists.
Channels
What we measure
Make people understand why it matters.
Channels
What we measure
Drive download, registration and first action.
Channels
What we measure
Create habit.
Channels
What we measure
Activation & Growth
Kill the first-order friction.
Downloading is not enough
We want the user to download, register, join loyalty and make the first transaction. The recommendation: a welcome benefit becomes available when the user joins the loyalty programme.
Potential examples
Launch incentives
Quote it. Send it. Drive it.
Quote. Build. Win. Use Thuso's quoting feature and stand a chance to win a bakkie.
One campaign drives acquisition, feature activation, customer introduction, transactions and data.
Your next project could be on us.
Complete a qualifying transaction through Thuso and stand a chance to win R50,000 towards your next home improvement project.
The reward drives the behaviour and habit we want users to adopt.
Refer a mate.
Turn users into the next acquisition channel. Invite another contractor — once the referred contractor activates and completes a qualifying action (like sending a valid quote to a customer), both unlock a benefit.
Potential rewards
Why this matters — contractors already operate in networks
The stores become a media network
Thuso launches into an ecosystem where millions of customer interactions already happen across the participating brands. The opportunity: convert customers at the moment they are already thinking about building and already spending money.
"Help is here." Launch takeover Posters, hanging signage, digital screens, shelf talkers.
Awareness
QR + instant welcome / loyalty benefit Sign up at the moment of purchase.
Sign-ups + loyalty
App QR + welcome-reward prompt The message goes home with every purchase.
At-home download + first orderStaff physically onboard contractors Demonstrate quote and project tools face to face.
High-value contractor adoption"Next load, order ahead. We'll bring it where you need it."
Behaviour shiftQR on delivery notes + selected vehicle branding Every delivery is a moving advert.
Repeat + reachAccount activation + virtual-card education Move account customers across in person.
Account migrationWhich store can bring the most
customers to Thuso?
Give every participating store a trackable QR or referral code — every activation can be attributed back to brand, store and region. It gives store teams ownership of the launch, makes progress visible, identifies high-performing stores — and for the marketing team, it identifies stores that need extra support. If one region is converting strongly and another isn't, marketing budget and activation activity can respond in real time.
Illustrative concept — the live leaderboard tracks real store attribution once QR codes are deployed.
Real people. Real situations.
Use creators who can demonstrate Thuso in real situations — with unique referral links or codes where technically possible, measuring registrations, activated users, orders and revenue.
Contractor / trade creators
Home / DIY creators
The content
- Old way vs Thuso way
- Create a real quote
- Order real materials
- Track a real project
- Show a real delivery
Attribution — measure
PR Strategy
Give the media a story, not a product release.
A new connected digital platform for the building industry
Bringing retail, contractor business tools and project visibility together for the building industry.
A traditional building-material group goes connected
How a traditional group is connecting stores, ecommerce, accounts, projects and customer data through one app. ITWeb and Bizcommunity already cover South African app innovation and retail technology — a credible media angle rather than forcing Thuso into generic lifestyle press.
Small business. Big-business tools.
How Thuso gives smaller contractors tools normally associated with more sophisticated operations: professional quoting, pricing, projects, customer management and ordering. This is a human business story — not a tech-spec story.
The Thuso Delivery Challenge.
Find a genuinely difficult or unexpected South African build location — a remote community project, a mountainside site, a rural build, an unusual renovation. The challenge: can the project be sourced and coordinated using Thuso?
The story: "Help that shows up — even here."
Important: the location and project need to be authentic and operationally achievable.
PR messaging
Content System
Don't try to explain Thuso in one ad — market the features in chapters.
Reveal Thuso chapter by chapter
Meet Thuso
The ecosystem
Quote it.
Contractor quoting
Keep it moving.
Projects and timelines
Get what you need.
Products, stock and ordering
Help is on the way.
Delivery
Your account. Right there.
Virtual cards, invoices, statements, PODs
Build from anywhere.
Remote project visibility
The result: Thuso stays fresh for months because we continue revealing reasons to use it.
Every format has a job
Awareness
Short, high-impact teaser videos introducing Thuso and building curiosity.
Problem → Solution
Recognisable frustrations, answered.
"No cement on site?" Help is on the way. · "Quote still waiting on your laptop?" Do it now.
Feature demos
One feature. One benefit. One CTA.
Build a quote · Start a project · Track a timeline · Use your virtual card · Order materials · Access account documents
How-to
Short, practical tutorials demonstrating how to complete common actions.
Tips & tricks
Help users get more from Thuso.
Real builds
Customer and contractor stories.
Creator content
Real-world demonstrations.
Community
Celebrate what South Africans are building.
Eight pillars, one voice
Thuso Made Simple
Short demonstrations and tutorials of individual features.
Build Smarter
Practical building, buying and project-planning tips.
Small Business. Big Tools.
Contractor business advice — quoting, customer management, project efficiency and admin.
Keep It Moving
Communication, timelines, updates and remote project management.
Help Is On The Way
Delivery + convenience.
Built Here
South African contractor and customer stories, experiences and case studies.
What's New
Updates, improvements and new functionality.
Campaigns & Rewards
Competitions, offers and adoption incentives.
Onboarding & Retention
Reasons to return, engineered into the first week.
Guide every audience to their first win
Using push, email, in-app prompts, retargeting and tutorial videos.
Contractor
- Create first quote
- Create first project
- Link account
- Place first order
Residential
- Browse
- Purchase
- Arrange delivery
- Access account
Commercial
- Link account
- Access documents
- Use virtual card
- Complete transaction
Build reasons to return
Welcome
Reward the first meaningful action.
Loyalty
Give users a reason to identify themselves and stay connected.
Referral
Let active users introduce other users.
Projects
Active jobs naturally create repeat usage.
Personalisation
Use behaviour to make future communication increasingly relevant.
Rewards
Occasional incentives accelerate behaviours we want.
The best retention engine, however, is utility. People return because Thuso solves something they repeatedly need solved.
The Data Feedback Loop
Every campaign should make the next one smarter.
- 1
Campaign
Who did we target?
- 2
Acquisition
Who downloaded?
- 3
User profile
Who are they?
- 4
Behaviour
What did they use?
- 5
Transaction
What did they buy?
- 6
Retention
Did they return?
- 7
Insight
What should we do differently next?
One clear view. Updated in real time.
X Digital will provide a live dashboard giving the Thuso team access to the most valuable marketing, app and customer insights in one clear view — updated in real time and accessible whenever they need it. Instead of waiting for monthly reports, working through spreadsheets or trying to make sense of disconnected data, teams simply open the dashboard and see what is happening.
View dashboard ⟶KPIs
What we track — and why it matters.
Awareness
- Reach
- Video views
- Website traffic
- Brand searches
Acquisition
- App installs
- Registrations
- Cost per acquired user
- Migration rate
Activation
- Accounts activated
- Accounts linked
- Quotes created
- Quotes sent
- Projects created
- Purchases
- Virtual-card usage
Retention & value
- Monthly active users
- Repeat purchases
- Repeat feature usage
- Quote-to-order conversion
- Average transaction value
- Campaign-attributed revenue
Rollout
Four phases, nine immediate priorities and the first 90 days.
Four phases, one arc
Help is coming.
- Brand strategy
- Positioning
- Messaging
- Migration
- Urgent communications
- Website foundation
- Social setup
- Content production
- Launch creatives
- Measurement planning and tracking
- Internal preparation
Help is here.
- Awareness campaigns
- PR
- Creators
- Store activations
- Competitions
- Paid media
- Migration acceleration
- Welcome rewards
Help is on the way.
- Onboarding
- Feature education
- Tutorials
- Referral programme
- Retargeting
- Customer stories
Just get it on Thuso.
- Retention
- Optimisation
- Personalisation
- New campaigns
- Customer insights
- Feature adoption
- Loyalty growth
- Ongoing content
- Commercial growth
What needs to happen now
Finalise the brand foundation
Purpose, promise, positioning, voice, audience messaging.
Begin migration communication
BUCO GO banners, existing-user journey.
Build the priority communication system
Transactional banners, document footers, email templates.
Build the Thuso digital home
Website, FAQs, download journeys.
Produce launch content
Teaser videos, problem/solution content, feature content.
Prepare in-store
QR attribution, signage, staff, trade desk.
Define activation mechanics
Welcome reward, bakkie campaign, R50,000 home-improvement campaign.
Prepare PR + creator launch
Media narrative, launch demonstration, industry partners, creators.
Confirm measurement
Store attribution, creator attribution, campaign events, dashboards.
Introduce. Activate. Build habit.
Introduce
- Who is Thuso?
- What is changing?
- Why should customers care?
- Migrate existing users
- Build awareness
Activate
- Use your account
- Create your first quote
- Start your first project
- Complete your first purchase
- Participate in launch campaigns
Build habit
- Discover more features
- Return to active projects
- Repeat purchases
- Build customer case studies
- Optimise campaigns using behavioural data
Website Demo
The Thuso digital home — the shop window and download hub.
Where every campaign sends people
Every ad, QR code, post and press mention needs somewhere to land. This is the Thuso website — built to explain the platform, answer the questions and drive the download.
Cost Structure
What the work costs, line by line.
General consulting & strategy
Website build
Dashboard
Pre-launch
Thuso means help.
But the opportunity is to make that mean something much bigger.
Not help that sits and waits.
Help that shows up.
And when South Africa needs to build —
Help is on the way.