Working at TVNZ for 12 years I lived through the rotating door of many consultants over the years.
Any time an "image" or "branding" exercise was being undertaken (which seemed like every five minutes), a new round of consultants would be dragged in.
Usually from far-flung places like the United States, sometimes with TV experience, sometimes none at all. Such is the joy of the consultant. It's an elaborately vague title to encapsulate all things. Experience in a particular field is seemingly not necessary.
We once endured lengthy workshop sessions in the studio with a super extroverted American beaming at us from behind the camera and instructing us to read the autocue "without reading it!"
She would wildly gesture with her arms for us to "smile with your eyes!"
I think that must've been during the phase where they were trying to make the news more friendly (American styles), right before the phase where it went BBC serious again after complaints the newsreaders seemed too happy.
Basically the new consultants come in and undo everything the old consultants did, and so the pattern goes.
But back to the Labour party.
The outfit they've hired specialises in "gender intelligence".
Which, in case you have no idea what that catchy slogan means, is about understanding, celebrating and engaging women.
How that's going to be reflected in a crisper letterhead and font is beyond me, but then I'm not a consultant. I'm not sure if you noticed, but the Labour party changed its tone last year to a fresher "Jacinda red" and dumped its fern logo in 2014.
I would've thought the biggest and most comprehensive brand refresh for Labour came when they dumped a flailing Andrew Little and his "fresh approach" campaign, and brought in Jacinda and her "Let's do this". Her subsequent elevation to feminist icon by becoming PM, having a baby and returning to work would be all the action the party needed, surely?
So it's baffling as to why they've brought in image and branding consultants, because I would've thought brand Labour is red hot right now.